Wound, Remedy, Lifeline
by Oneiric Desideria
Summary: [ GrimmIchi College AU ] A story of two young men as they come together in a frenzy of schoolwork, parties, part-time jobs, family issues, maturing insecurities, and perhaps, one-sided crushing. Harsh language, depictions of violence, angst, lemon, FLUFF, etc., and of course, yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**_* If, by chance, you dislike college AU's, please don't bother reading any further _**_because yes, this is a college AU and I don't want any flames from you._

_Should you be **confused** by anything, please don't be afraid to **review **or **PM **me._

_In the fic, Ichigo has two brothers: **Mugetsu and Takeshi**. Mugetsu looks like Ichigo in the final Getsuga Tenshou form, and Takeshi looks like Ichigo's inner hollow, more often referred to as Shirosaki Hichigo. I just didn't want Ichigo's brother's name to be way too similar to his own, or have the meaning 'white' (Shiro). Takeshi means warrior, and I had other choices like Katsujiro (which is a name I made up by combining Katsu, meaning win/victory, and Jiro, meaning second son), but I decided on Takeshi with help and opinion from my sister. *****_

* * *

**Title: Wound, Remedy, Lifeline**

**AU: **modern college

**Fandom: **Bleach

**Pairing: **GrimmIchi – Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez & Ichigo Kurosaki

**Rating: **M – yaoi, sexual circumstances, lemon, violence, harsh language

**Disclaimer: **two words – Kubo Tite

* * *

**I.K. – 8/31 Sun. - 1:48 pm**

Exactly two months and sixteen days ago, Ichigo Kurosaki turned eighteen. Which meant college. At last.

Not that he had been particularly _excited_ for the whole university thing, but he was at least looking forward to finally becoming even slightly more independent.

"Ichi, help take this in, would ya?" Takeshi called from the back of the truck, heaving two large cardboard boxes in his arms. His pale white hair already had drops of perspiration hanging from the strands, and he huffed as he wiped his forehead on his shoulder. Ichigo couldn't blame him though; he had stopped by his own dorm before this, delivering his own things to his room as well. Besides, Ichigo was sweating too. It was one of the hottest days of the season this year. Great day to move into campus. "Get the one on top."

"Coming, coming," Ichigo said loudly as he jogged out of the dormitory.

He took a box from Takeshi and led the way into his assigned dorm room, 211, where they set down the last of his things on the bed he had been left with. It seemed his unidentified roommate had already been there and gone, for supplies lay strewn across the other's bed and desk. Since he and Takeshi had only come to drop off Ichigo's things, they left almost immediately afterwards instead of lingering for a little longer. The room was fairly simple anyway (nothing to see, really): twin beds, twin desks, twin closets, and a window separating it in halves. The view wasn't even nice; the room was located at the back of the building, which meant it only faced a small road and another building outside.

"I had top floor freshman year," Takeshi muttered, shuddering at the memory. "In the summer? Hot as fuck, I'm tellin' ya."

"Watch the language, Take."

"Eh? Oh, ha. Funny, coming from ya."

Mugetsu strolled in, long black hair up in a ponytail because of the sweltering heat outside. His face looked slightly moist with sweat, both his hands occupied with three water bottles straight from the vending machine. Takeshi made a face at Mugetsu's choice of beverage.

"I told you I want soda."

"Water's better."

Takeshi rolled his eyes and took a bottle.

Ichigo glanced at the bed that wasn't his. He had hoped his roommate would be Renji Abarai, the only person he knew in probably the entire campus with the exception of Takeshi. They had gone to high school together, and while several others stayed behind in Karakura or left for some other country, Renji had been accepted into the same school as Ichigo's. But no, the redhead had texted him earlier, saying he was in Room 309.

"Wanna go eat now?" Mugetsu asked, pinching the front of his T-shirt and pulling back and forth to let some cooler air in. "Go out, or check out the dining hall?"

"Mm, eat out. I feel like McDonalds."

Soon, they were in Mugetsu's dark gray pickup truck, Takeshi out in the back (as a result of losing to Ichigo in a game of jan-ken-pon) and Ichigo inside next to Mugetsu, who drove. As the oldest of the siblings, Mugetsu was the only one with a license. Takeshi had tried, of course; he had done so countless times. And he could drive, except he did it in such a rough a manner that the academy refused to give him a license. As for Ichigo, he had never really tried, but perhaps it would come to be of use in his college life.

The food was rather terrible, but that was the whole point of going to the fast food restaurant: to rant amongst themselves about how tasteless and unhealthy the food was. The three had never really liked fast food, anyway, always preferring plain ice water to Coke or Sprite. Except Takeshi. But he only liked sodas, so that didn't count. They finished half their burgers before they left the store, and instead filled their stomachs with a Jamba Juice each – not that that was much of a better diet.

When Ichigo got back to his room, it was evening and his roommate was still not there. Mugetsu had left since he had to get back to work tomorrow, and Takeshi had gone back to his own dormitory – one for juniors and seniors.

Nothing to do. Ichigo picked up his phone and texted Renji: _"sup. on campus. u?"_

He flopped down onto his bed, which squeaked loudly in protest. The upperclassmen probably got the better dorms; Takeshi had been rambling on and on about how much better his new dorm was than the old one.

Just as Ichigo got comfortable and closed his eyes, his phone vibrated on the desk. He leaned onto his side and grabbed it, reading the text.

_"dude clarken right? what rm #?"_

_"211," _Ichigo typed.

In less than a minute, there was a knock on Ichigo's door, and he stood up to get it. It was Renji on the other side, grinning widely in his plain white T-shirt and blue jeans.

"Where've you been, man? I was here since Saturday." Renji walked in as if he owned the place. Ichigo didn't point out that Saturday was only yesterday, and how it always sort of bothered him about how some people said the name of the day (Monday, Friday, etc.), and others said it time-wise (tomorrow, day before yesterday, etc.). Like, why couldn't people just decide on one thing?

"Who's your roommate?" Ichigo ignored Renji's previous question. The redhead didn't seem to notice.

"Ikkaku-somethin'. Beat the shit outta this guy right in front of our room. I saw it happen. Apparently the guy had called him bald." He shrugged. "Seems cool. You?"

"I haven't even seen mine yet," Ichigo said with a shrug. Honestly, he was curious, but what could he do? Even if his roommate didn't plan to show up at all throughout the entire year, he couldn't do much about it.

**III**

It was around two in the morning that the second owner of the shared room finally decided to show up. Just when Ichigo finally fell asleep in the unfamiliar environment. The orange-head heard the door open and close, which woke him, and shuffled around so that he was facing the room instead of the wall. It was near impossible to see past his desk, however, for the tiny sliver of moon outside only offered a very dim light for the place. He caught a glimpse of a large back, and he could tell the guy was tall – six feet at the least. The man took off a layer of clothing, and then sank into his own bed. Ichigo – sleepy as he was – turned around and closed his eyes.

**III**

The next morning, Ichigo was greeted by the alarm on his phone vibrating and ringing beside his head. He swiped the screen to shut it off, and then crushed his face into his pillow for a few moments, just enjoying the silence.

Ichigo suddenly jerked up from his position on the bed to check the time. 8:52. He could have sworn he only laid back down for, like, five seconds, but it had already been twenty-two minutes since the last time he woke up.

"Shit," he cursed quietly to himself, and shuffled out of bed. Grabbing the first shirt and pair of shorts he could find, he washed up in the shared bathroom and swung by the room to drop off his toiletries and pick up his backpack. His roommate still seemed to be asleep, completely buried under the blankets. The only sign he was actually there was the big lump under the sheets and a hand hanging off the side of the bed. Ichigo considered waking him, maybe even just to see if the guy was actually alive, but decided not to in case the man wanted to sleep in. Perhaps he had chosen afternoon and night classes; who knew?

"Yo, Ichigo," came Renji's voice from across the hallway. "You weren't at breakfast, so I came up looking for you – guess I was right in assuming you slept in?"

Bright red hair strands were tightly pulled up into a spiky ponytail as usual, unlike Mugetsu's, whose ponytails were always long and graceful, even when he tied it quickly and effortlessly. Ichigo guessed the spikes were sort of Renji's style, since he never bothered to tame them down or something. Renji also liked blue jeans, which he was wearing today as well, except they only came up to the knees instead of all the way down. That was probably because it was still so hot out.

"Yeah, I slept in," Ichigo confirmed with a light sigh. This was not the best way to start the first day of his first year in college.

Renji laughed – a deep, throaty laugh, which Ichigo had always thought was a very pleasant noise. He jerked his chin toward the staircase. "Come on, let's get going. You're gonna be late to your first class of the year, you know? Takeshi-san was wondering where you'd gone as well."

"Take-nii? Where is he now?"

"I told him I'd get you to class, and he left."

"Oh. Well, you don't need to take me anywhere. I can manage on my own." Ichigo slung his backpack over both shoulders and hung onto the straps with his hands.

Renji rolled his eyes, having experienced his friend's obstinacy since grade school. He knew there was no stopping Ichigo once he set his mind to something. Even Takeshi and Mugetsu couldn't persuade the boy if he was determined enough.

"Your first class is Chemistry, right? Engineering's in the same building. I'll just come with you; how's that?"

Ichigo scowled, but decided to let it pass. Exhaling through his nose, he exited the building before Renji and began taking long strides to the Graces Building.

"Hey, hey," the redhead called as he jogged to catch up. "So, have you seen your roommate yet?"

"Nope. He came in at, like, two in the morning."

"Still? Do you at least know his name?"

Orange eyebrows furrowed, gathering in the middle of Ichigo's forehead. "No."

Again, with the rolling eyes. Renji was the champion for that trick. "You know, the name is on the papers you got from the office."

"Oh. Oops." _What papers?_

They split ways once they were inside the building, for their classes were located at opposite ends of the structure. _Room 146, Professor Shihōin._ The place was more of a small auditorium than a classroom, with rows of elevated seats and tables facing a whiteboard, a podium, a large desk, and a wheeled chair. The podium was pushed off to the side, though; maybe this professor didn't really like using it.

The teacher, or Professor Shihōin, was sitting on the chair, one leg perched on the other and a lollipop hanging from her mouth. Her hair was violet, and she wore it up in a way similar to how Mugetsu tied it up. She had extremely tan skin – rather beautiful, actually – and eyes the color of beach sand under the sun. She seemed completely indifferent toward the students as they filed into the room.

Only when the bell chimed did the professor finally sit up and examine the group of students she was supposed to teach for the rest of the year. She picked up a clipboard - spinning a pen in her other hand - and spoke.

"Ayasegawa, Yumichika."

A guy with black jaw-length hair glanced around with wide violet eyes. " . . . Yes?"

The professor looked completely nonchalant as she continued reading down her paper. "Cifer, Ulquiorra."

Oh. _She was taking roll_.

Her pronunciation was perfect. For the names Ichigo couldn't figure out how to spell just by hearing it being said, he wondered how she knew what they even sounded like. She continued flawlessly, never pausing even for a moment to figure out how to say something. At last, she was nearing Ichigo's name.

"Jaegerjaquez, Grimmjow."

The class went silent. Ichigo looked up from picking his cuticles and glanced around. No one seemed to know who this person was.

"No Jaegerjaquez?"

Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open, alerting both the students and the professor. A tall someone with a black hood over his head stepped in, panting a little. He must have run all the way to class.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?"

The guy gave her a terse nod.

"Terrible start to the year, mind you," Professor Shihōin said, raising an eyebrow.

The guy muttered an apology and began walking to the seats.

"No hats of any sort in school buildings."

The newcomer glanced up at the professor for a second before pulling his hood down, revealing bright blue hair messy from bed. It was a rather striking color, really.

"Mm. Okay. Kurosaki, Ichigo."

Ichigo could tell just by glancing at her eyes that she expected a girl to answer. She was scanning all the faces of the girls in the class.

Ichigo sighed inwardly and said, "Present."

The professor's eyes snapped toward Ichigo, slight surprise filling them for only a short moment before they went back to being blank and indifferent. Several students snickered quietly, whispering, but stopped as soon as Shihōin glared at the lot of them.

"Professor Yoruichi Shihōin," the lady said once she finished taking attendance. She wrote her name on the board, then whipped back around at the class. "Welcome to Chemistry. Lectures and labs included. Dare slack off in my class, and you will wish you never stepped foot in this room today."

The tan woman got up from her chair and paced a little, speaking all the while.

"This room, however, will only be used for lectures, which will take place two times a week for an hour and a half. Labs will be on Wednesdays and Fridays for two hours each. There will be around two exams per semester; decide not to study, and you will fail miserably. The only day we will not be meeting on is Tuesday." Pause. She looked up. "Any questions?"

**III**

"Ah, Berry-tan!"

Ichigo glanced back, unconsciously scowling out of habit.

"No need to look so angry…" a short girl with lime green hair pouted. She had on some kind of goggles/sunglasses (Ichigo wasn't sure which) on her head, wore an orange scarf, boots, gloves, and a tight white bodysuit. He wondered if she wasn't getting warm in that outfit.

"Sorry, I didn't realize…"

Instantly, her eyes widened, sticking her lips out a bit, and began walking toward Ichigo. He instinctively took a step back but she didn't seem to notice – only staring at him curiously until she finally was close enough to reach out to him…

And pinched his cheek.

"I was kidding! Cute name, by the way. Berry-tan? I'm Mashiro!"

Just as Ichigo opened his mouth to answer and correct her in the meaning of his name, another girl with the same height as the first caught up to her friend. This one had dirty blond hair and wore a white collared shirt, and white gloves. A black-haired girl followed behind her, wearing a bun held up by a piece of cloth and a black knee-length skirt below a white V-neck. The blonde spoke.

"Mashi-chan, don't go running off like that on your own!" She looked up, spotting Ichigo. "Oh… You're the strawberry! I heard from Momo-chan. Are you a freshman? I haven't seen you around. Kiyone Kotetsu, by the way. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand, which Ichigo shook. "This is Mashiro Kuna" – a huff – "and this is Momo Hinamori" – a smile – "and we're all juniors. Sorry if Mashiro bothered you… she's just really… friendly, I guess."

"Wasn't bothering him. Right, Berry-tan!" Mashiro interjected, naturally linking arms with Ichigo. He nearly yanked his arm away from her, but caught himself before he made a scene.

"It's Ichigo. Kurosaki."

"When's your last class end, Berry-tan?"

"…" _Sheesh. I give up. _"One-ish…"

"Great!" Kiyone said suddenly, earning a glare from Mashiro. It seemed she had taken her friend's line. "There's a party down at a friend's house tonight. You should come!"

"Actually…" Ichigo had just been about to reject the offer when Mashiro interrupted. Man, she was good at doing that.

"Yay! Okay, then we'll pick Berry-tan up at five!"

Ichigo was left standing alone, the three girls having sped away after Ichigo told them which room number he had. Maybe he shouldn't have told them. He was dazed for a brief moment before getting himself together, readjusting the backpack on his shoulder, and striding off toward the dining hall. Now the only problem was whether he was going the right way. Perhaps he would be able to find the right building before his hour-long break ended.

* * *

**G.J. – 9/1 Mon. - 9:33 am**

"Shit," Grimmjow muttered as he rushed out of bed, still wearing the clothes he wore the night before. His watch read 9:33 – late for his first class.

He didn't even brush his teeth – only wiped them a few times with water and fingers – before snatching his bag and dashing out of the dormitory. He couldn't even gel his hair up properly, hence leaving it a huge mess. He ran all the way to what he thought was the right building, realized it was actually where his _second_ class took place, and had to race all the way back to the right one. By the time he stood in front of Graces 302, it was 9:42 and he was panting heavily with his hands on his thighs. Once he regained a little more of his composure, he turned the doorknob and entered.

Instinctively, Grimmjow scanned the rows of chairs… well, more like, he scanned the heads of the people sitting on them. Brown. Brown. Super dark. Is that called black? Hazel. Chestnut. Brown. Oh, hey, slightly lighter brown. Very dark. Even darker. Neon orange. Dark brown. Black…

Wait.

Cyan eyes snapped toward the neon orange tufts of hair. Man, that's bright. He squinted to see better (for he had forgotten his contacts in the chaos of his morning schedule), and yes, the guy's eyebrows were the same bright shade of orange. It seemed that, in this class, he and the carrot-top were the only ones with eccentric hair color.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?"

Oh, the professor. Her hair was a dark violet. But not very bright. So that didn't count. He nodded.

He didn't pay attention throughout class – just doodled and stared at the orange head in front of him. Ichigo Kurosaki, the professor had said? It didn't seem like that guy was paying much attention either since all he really did was draw something on his notebook or stare off into space when he lost inspiration.

Okay, next class: Calculus. It was terribly boring, and he could tell already how impossibly difficult it would be to stay awake enough to actually listen in class throughout the following year or two. All the people in this class had dark hair, except for one blonde and he could tell she had dyed it just by looking at her dark eyebrows. Grimmjow was the only one with vibrant hair color. It reminded him of the time back when he was younger – much younger – when he attended schools in which kids didn't have hair color as bright as his own. He was picked on a lot for that – he remembered. Well, at least he could fight now, thanks to that.

Much too lazy to reach back and put his backpack on properly so that both straps securely rested on his shoulders. He noticed a busty girl with sea green hair approaching and waving, and watched her and nodded as she walked close enough to be heard.

"Don't forget about the party tonight, okay? And dress up, Grimmy!"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. And don't call me that. Please." She laughed.

Nelliel was his older sister – a senior this year. She was bubbly and friendly: the complete opposite of Grimmjow. She had had seven boyfriends just the year before (according to what he had heard), when he had only been in his freshman year, and much, much more in the not-so-distant past. She was the type to easily fall in and out of love; well, Grimmjow was too – perhaps it sort of ran in the family. As far as he knew, however, she wasn't with anybody right now.

"Then I'll pick Grimmy up at, um… eight, maybe? No, actually, I told Ran-chan I'd help prepare, so I'll pick you up at around seven-thirty in front of Clarken, yeah?"

"Mm-hmm." Grimmjow nodded, giving Nel an acknowledging glance when she waved goodbye before walking off himself. He stopped by his room to drop off his things and wash up a little, then changed into work clothes, which really just meant a combination of black – a black button-down shirt and a pair of black jeans, complete with a plain black belt. Yanking on his sneakers, he headed out again, only his phone and wallet stuffed in the back pockets of his jeans. Grimmjow saw the orange-haired kid on the way – the one from his first class. The guy was staring at his phone, thumbs dancing over the screen in lightning speed as he walked, but he never bumped into anything. Man, Grimmjow wished _he_ could multitask like that.

He strolled along the sidewalk, hands in pockets, like he always did on the way to work. Except today, he was taking a different path since it was his first time going to work from school. It was closer this way, and he arrived six minutes earlier than usual. The familiar restaurant crawled into sight, next to a Crazy Shirts shop and a Menchies'. Dangai looked small from the front; it looked the same size as the two shops on either side of it, but it stretched out inside, all the way back. The whole place added up to roughly eighteen hundred square feet, complete with a kitchen, a bar, eighteen tables, and restrooms (slightly crowded, maybe, but good enough for the customers). Dangai was popular, to say the least. College kids and residential people stopped by all throughout the day for a meal, or even just dessert. The place had great dessert – cakes and crepes and tarts and meringues and puddings, it had everything.

Grimmjow entered through the back door, like he would on any typical day, and checked in before going out to the floor.

"Oh, you're early today, Jaegerjaquez-san," Izuru Kira greeted with a surprised look, then a smile as he glanced up from where he was chatting with Shuuhei Hisagi and Isane Kotetsu. His blond hair fell over his left eye as usual, and his shirt was buttoned up all the way. Hisagi was a cook, the only one other than the boss herself. Yasutora Sado, a huge Mexican guy who worked part-time some days, also cooked, but it seemed he wasn't here today. They were all speaking while working, relaxed because there weren't too many customers at the moment.

"Only by ten minutes." He had told the blonde to just call him Grimmjow countless times, but Kira always managed to slip back to Jaegerjaquez-san. He didn't even bother anymore. Well, maybe it was fair since he called the blonde by his surname as well, but at least he didn't add the –san. "That short guy… Tarou? Hanako? Anyhow, he left already?"

"It's Ha-na-ta-ro," Kira said with clear enunciation. "Please at least memorize the names of those you work with. Well, apparently Yamada-san was a little busy today and had to run over for something. I'm not sure what, though. Oh, by the way, Unagiya-san said there was a newbie coming in. Have you heard?"

"For real?"

"Yeah," Hisagi answered this time. He was a pretty cool guy, with spiky black hair and a "69" tattoo on his right cheek, and the only one Kira actually called by his first name. Apparently, they'd known each other for _ages_ now. "Working Mondays through Fridays, and same time range as yours, Jaegerjaquez. Except he's starting from tomorrow, so he won't be coming today."

"Eh? What's his name?"

"Umm… I remember it being an interesting name… I thought it was a girl at first, until Unagiya-san told me it was actually a guy." Kotetsu rubbed the top of her nose, but not before glancing at the other two to see if they remembered. She was a tall girl – slightly taller than even Grimmjow.

A cute, girly name… He knew one. "Was it Ichigo?"

"Oh, yeah! It was. How'd you know?" Kotetsu inquired after a small clap of recollection.

"Never mind that. He's working here form tomorrow onward?"

"Yep. From four to ten. Dinner shift. Same as you."

"Mm… Well, I needa leave a little early today; my sister's friend needs help with something… or something. Would you tell the boss that I'll work extra sometime next week? I'm leavin' at seven-ish."

"Unagiya-san was kind of upset the last time you ran off early… she threatened to fire you, remember?" Kotetsu raised an eyebrow, leaning on the wall once she finished wiping a table. Grimmjow only shrugged in reply. True, the boss could be real scary, but she never really fired anyone.

A quiet beeping resounded from Kira, and he glanced down at his watch to shut the alarm off.

"Gotta run," he muttered. "I need to stop by the hospital…"

"Everyone's leaving early today. See, Kira's skipping the dinner shift. Jeez." Kotetsu laughed a little, returning the rag to where all the others were kept. "How's your sister, by the way? Will she be discharged anytime soon?" she asked, speaking of Kira's family that had just recently gotten into a car accident. It had been a pretty big deal, actually.

Kira shook his head. "She's still got a week or two to go. Mother is already out, but it seems Izumi isn't ready yet. Just recovered from her concussion, actually."

"Poor kid. At least we all know she's alive, yeah?" Kotetsu said hopefully, and Kira nodded with a smile.

"Yeah… Well, see you tomorrow, everyone," Kira said as he took off his apron. Grimmjow never wore his; he didn't see the point since he didn't even cook.

Almost as soon as Kira left, knuckles shot into the back of Grimmjow's head. Wow, that actually really hurt.

"Moron, are you kidding me? You're leaving early _again_?"

He whipped around, confirming his fleeting suspicions that it was in fact his boss who had hit him. She wore contacts today, her raven bangs falling to the left of her face instead of all over her eyes. Rubbing his sore head, Grimmjow straightened up.

"Sorry, sorry, Ikumi-san," he smoothly managed an apology. "Nel needs help again… I promise I'll make up to it sometime this week or next, yeah?"

The owner of the little restaurant rolled her eyes and bonked Grimmjow's head once more just for good measure. "Fine. Arrange a day this week. But you definitely stay full-time all through next week, and the next. Got it?"

"Oh, Unagiya-san," Kotetsu spoke up, glancing at Grimmjow with a soft giggle. "Jaegerjaquez knows the newbie, he says. He goes to the college here, did you know?"

"Ah. Then why don't you help him out through the week, Grimmjow? It'll help you make up for the times you missed last week and today. Yeah?" The boss snatched her apron, putting it over her head and tying it around her waist. Food stains decorated the front from all the years she cooked. This one was one of the older ones, since the woman never threw away any of her aprons.

"Does that mean I don't have to work extra anytime soon?"

"Dream big, boy. No way in hell you're getting away with missing so much of your shifts. You do what I tell you _because_ I tell you to, yeah?"

"…Yeah."

* * *

_I'm going to see the reaction to this first chapter… and then maybe I'll decide what to do with it. Hope you enjoyed, though._

_By the way, would anyone beta possible future chapters? That would be fabulous. And do you like the longer-chapters-less-frequent-updates policy (4-5k words) or the shorter-chapters-more-frequent-updates policy (2-3k)?_

_Thank you, minna!_

_[ Jou ]_


	2. Chapter 2

**I.K. – 9/1 Mon. – 4:57 pm**

Ichigo sat in his bed, reading the summary of _The Miracle Worker_ and skimming through the book. After English literature, he had taken a light stroll around campus before returning to his dorm room at around one-thirty. The book didn't seem too difficult. Considering reading it was the very first assignment given in his last class, it wasn't too bad at all. Although he had never read it before, he had seen the book and knew the general story of Helen Keller. Now all he had to do was actually read it in a week's time.

The book was set up like a play (it probably really was). There were passages describing the setting of a certain scene and what each character was doing in it. And there were lots of dialogue. And adverbs and adjectives to explain how each character said whatever they said. He quickly scanned the list of characters at the top of the page, and then started on the passage below.

"_Time. The 1880's. Place. In and around the Keller homestead in Tuscumbia, Alabama; also, briefly, the Perkins Institution for the Blind, in Boston."_

He liked reading out loud. He liked how his voice was nearly the only audible thing in the room. He liked the thought of his voice travelling from his lips, bouncing against the walls, and being shot back into his own ears. Maybe it was a good thing that his roommate wasn't around much. Not everyone loved to have someone read some book aloud to him without even asking. Not that he would actually read out loud, should his roommate really be there with him.

_"Act 1. It is night over the Keller homestead. Inside, three adults in the bedroom are grouped around a crib, in lamplight. They have been through a long vigil, and it shows in their tired bearing and disarranged clothing. One is a young gentlewoman with a sweet girlish face, _Kate Keller_; the second is an elderly _doctor_, stethoscope at neck, thermometer in fingers; the third is a hearty gentleman in his forties with chin whiskers, _Captain Arthur Keller.

_"_Doctor. _She'll live._

_"_Kate. _Thank God—"_

He hadn't even finished the first column of the page before a loud banging on his door brought him back to reality, out of the literary world. He had already immersed himself so deep within the book that he hadn't noticed the noisy female voices in the hallway.

"Berry-tan!"

Furrowing orange eyebrows, Ichigo checked his phone. It was three 'til five, and he had completely forgotten about Mashiro's party invitation. He was only wearing a plain baby blue shirt and a pair of khaki shorts with, like, hundreds of pockets.

"Berry-tan?"

Carefully closing the book and placing it on his bed, Ichigo stood to open the door. He was going to tell them to just go without him; thanks but maybe next time; he wasn't really a party-guy (which was completely not true, since he was an _absolute_ party-guy in high school… although his brothers and Renji was the only ones who knew about that). When he opened the door, however, the girls attacked him with endless chitchat – except Hinamori, who was shyer and quieter.

"I knew you were in there; people below told us they saw you come in!"

"Quite hard to miss, what with the orange-ness and all!"

"Berry-tan's ready? Nooo!"

"You're wearing the same thing as before!"

"How come Berry-tan didn't change!"

"Hey, this is your closet, right?"

"… Um, sorry, excuse us, Ichigo-san. Heh."

"…"

The three females hustled into the room and began rifling through his closet, throwing potential outfits onto his bed. Ichigo rescued his book before it got buried under his own clothing and watched helplessly as his entire closet was ransacked. He figured it wouldn't do much even if he tried to just didn't understand girls. It sometimes felt like they took advantage of the fact that they were female, and that any decent man would refrain from hitting one of those. It was like they were a completely different species. Of course, he'd had girlfriends before, but they had always been a rather difficult breed to deal with… At least, that's what he thought about them.

"How about this one?"

"With these pants?"

"Oh, this over that!"

Where are the socks? Socks are essential!"

"Does he have accessory?"

"Found it!"

"Oh, perfect!"

When they finished, Ichigo ended up with a crimson tee (huh, he thought he had left that one at home), a casual white collared shirt to go over it (appropriate; it wasn't for formal attire anyway), black skinny jeans (wouldn't that be hot?), long shark-tooth necklace (Kiyone insisted he borrow it), his striped socks (wow, he never even wore those before), and a pair of vintage gray Converse (one of his personal favorites, really) all tossed into his arms. He sighed and decided he was glad that he had stored his underwear in a different drawer under his bed; at least he got a little privacy there.

Once changed and ready, Ichigo was dragged out of the dorm where a sleek yellow car awaited. _Nice._ It made Ichigo want a driver's license. Although… even if he had one, they wouldn't be able to afford a nice car like that.

Mashiro drove. Fast. They arrived at a large house in less than fifteen minutes, whereas apparently it should have taken twenty-five if someone else drove, and nearly forty if they had walked. When they entered, they were greeted by David Guetta's "Bad" and party decorations; tons of people were already there, but none of them were drunk or drugged like Ichigo had expected to see at a party for older peeps. Perhaps Kiyone noticed Ichigo's slightly surprised, perplexed expression. She leaned over to poke her head into his sight.

"This is just a little party to, you know, welcome the new year. Hang out, see friends, meet new people, you know? Just have fun, yeah?"

Ichigo nodded along. After these girls dispersed, he would leave. Mashiro was already gone, so it probably wouldn't take very long.

"Ah, Ichigo, meet Rangiku-san, the host of out party today! Rangiku-san, this is freshman Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo lifted his head to see a curvaceous woman with wavy blond hair falling all over her shoulders in graceful layers. Her pale blue eyes seemed as if they were checking Ichigo out, and he stood in a slightly nervous stance before she broke into a bright smile. Before he knew it, Ichigo was sinking into the depths of her ample breasts.

"He's sooo cute, OMG, OMG, OMG, right, Nel?" She didn't even seem to notice she was suffocating Ichigo. Instead, with the orangette still stuffed between her boobs, she glanced back at a friend with an equally large bosom, long wavy hair the color of ocean water, and a bright, bright smile.

"Freshie!" Rangiku's friend squealed, hopping, fingers wiggling as if she wanted to squeeze Ichigo to death as well. "Aw, freshies are always so cute."

"That's not true," Rangiku said matter-of-factly. "Remember Ōmaeda? Yuck."

"Thinking back, that's true. Where's he now?"

"Dunno… haven't seen him since sophomore year."

They seemed to have forgotten Ichigo for a moment, while for him, it was getting increasingly difficult to breathe. And it was hot. His _face_ was hot. And probably extremely red. He tried pushing a little at the woman's stomach, not wanting to be too rough, but seeing as it wasn't working and he would die of suffocation at this rate, he shoved at her harder, finally escaping her grasp. He gasped for breath, cool air hitting his cheeks and oxygen circulating back into his lungs.

"Ah, Ichigo," Rangiku acknowledged, eyebrows raised as if she was surprised that he was still there.

"Oh, wait, freshie means you're in Clarken, right?" Nel asked cheerfully. "Or are you in Marson? No, Marson's for juniors and seniors…"

"Clarken," Ichigo confirmed.

"Ah-ha! Then he's in the same dorm as Grimmy!" Nel gave a toothy grin and whipped around to yell: "GRIMMYYY!"

She smiled widely at Ichigo, eyes huge and staring, before a grumpy voice approached.

"What. Jesus Christ. Don't yell like that."

The boy from Chemistry, the one with striking blue hair, the one who had been late to class, strode over with hunched shoulders and pocketed hands. He glanced up at Ichigo and looked fairly shocked to see him there, but then recovered and looked to Nel again.

"Clarken boy. Same dorm! Do you know Ichigo?"

Cyan orbs slowly settled on brown, and Ichigo suddenly tensed. They just stood there, staring for what felt like a millennia to Ichigo before the blue-haired guy – Grimmjow? – turned back around and shook his head. Ichigo realized he'd been holding his breath. He let it out and bit his lip.

What had he expected? Of course he would say no. They really didn't know each other. Well, except the fact that they had seen each other before… but that didn't count as _knowing_. Had he expected the boy to remember _him, _out of all the other students there? Had he actually wanted the boy to say he knew him? That's kind of weird. Ichigo felt a slight twist in his stomach.

_Maybe I'm not feeling well, _Ichigo decided. And after several failed attempts to excuse himself from the party, many more introductions to older students, and a bunch of playful criticism directed toward his plain wallpaper while exchanging numbers, he finally succeeded to escape and walk back home alone.

* * *

**G.J. – 9/1 Mon. – 12:09 am**

God, his roommate slept early.

The lights were all off when Grimmjow pushed his door open, and he had to rely completely on his sense of touch as he felt his way to his bed. His eyes unused to the darkness, he slowly managed to get changed into his loose wife-beater and gray sweatpants before quietly slipping out to brush his teeth and wash his face. Even with the window, the room was near pitch black when he returned.

Setting the alarm on his watch to nine, he yanked the blanket over his head. Some didn't like that because it got warm or stuffy in there, but he liked it that way. He felt unsettled and shaky otherwise.

Under the blanket, Grimmjow exhaled and felt his own breath coming back to him. It smelled distinctly of spearmint; or was he actually tasting remains from his toothpaste? He couldn't really tell. It just felt nice to have his entire body covered up.

**III**

Tuesday, Grimmjow woke up on time. The bed next to his was already made, pillow neatly placed atop a tidy blanket. So, his roommate was super diligent and a neat freak, who always woke up and went to bed early. He just left his bed the way it was when he awoke: tangled and messy. Tearing open a Heath Bar from one of his desk drawers, he left the dormitory, this time, his first class being at 9:40. This was the class he dreaded: _Great Books that Shaped the Western World._ Wow. He preferred math or science, but Nel had bugged him to take it… for whatever reason. And of course, he couldn't say no to Nel.

He grabbed a Cookies n' Cream Pop Tart on the way.

**III**

Shirt loosely tucked in – _check._

Three buttons left open – _check._

Worn navy Converse – _check._

Just-rolled-out-of-bed hair gel – _check._

_Ready._

Slipping his hands into the large pockets of his dark jeans from yesterday, Grimmjow walked straight to Dangai. He was there by 3:56.

"Good afternoon, Grimmjow-san!" a voice greeted him when he entered the place. It was that short guy – Hanako… was it? It looked like he was getting ready to leave.

"'Sup."

There were a lot of customers today. Well, what's new? Dangai was _popular._

"I'm Izuru Kira. I'll be taking care of the kitchen with Shuuhei-kun while you work!" Kira's voice. Grimmjow turned around to see the blonde now in a cook's uniform, Hisagi leaning out of the kitchen with a wide grin on his face, and Kotetsu smiling warmly at a certain orange-haired male. He wore the same black shirt, two buttons left undone. Hmm, not _too_ bad. And he wore pretty tight jeans. Like, he wore skinny black jeans, not those super loose kinds. But it didn't look bad on him at all.

He had forgotten that Kira could easily switch from waiter to cook. Apparently, he had taken professional cooking classes since his sophomore year, now twenty-four and graduated. Hisagi, of course, was more talented, but Kira was a good helper. Grimmjow wondered if Hisagi cooked for his boyfriend – this really muscly guy with short silver hair. He couldn't remember his name, though. Did Kira have a lover? As far as Grimmjow knew, no.

"Ah! Jaegerjaquez-san!"

Grimmjow met Kira's eyes, and the blonde grinned warmly at him first, then at the orangette.

"This is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez-san. Perhaps you know him? Jaegerjaquez-san, remember the new employee we told you about yesterday? This is him – Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Um, yeah." Grimmjow nodded, glancing at Ichigo, who averted his eyes as soon as Grimmjow's settled on him.

"Pleasure," Ichigo muttered, looking away with a slight scowl. What was with the guy? Had Grimmjow done something wrong to him? Jeez.

"Sorry, Yadōmaru-san isn't here today… um, the boss. She's out sick. I didn't even know the lady was _capable_ of falling ill. Well, Kurosaki-san, you'll be taking tables twelve through sixteen. Okay?" Kira explained, then pointed toward the front area by the windows with two tables for four and three tables for two.

Ichigo nodded. "Okay." Then, a hasty addition: "Thanks."

He was a fast learner – that Ichigo kid. After watching Kotetsu and Grimmjow take care of a few customers and probably taking several mental notes, he was off on his first one, perfecting all the orders, good service, and even the charming-waiter-smile. The kid even took up to calling everyone by first names almost right away (adding –san). Grimmjow was… impressed, at the least.

**III**

"Yo, Grimmjow," a freakishly tall man with straight black hair falling all over his eye patch called from a table in Grimmjow's corner. He knew him. Nnoitra Gilga.

"'Sup."

He placed four menus on the table, scanned it to see whom Nnoitra had brought around this time. Tesra was sitting to the left of him by the wall, Ulquiorra across from the blonde, and a platinum-haired man with a funny looking hat he knew as D-Roy sat next to the raven.

"Drinks? Ice water?"

"Nah, just ice water," Nnoitra answered for the other three, then leaned forward on his elbow. "Dude, who's the orange kid? Newbie?"

"Huh?" He followed Nnoitra's gaze to Ichigo even though he knew full well what the man was talking about before he did so. "Oh… Yeah, came in today."

"Damn, he's cute, no?"

Ichigo was smiling at two female customers (taking their orders) who were practically gawking over him; it even looked like they had their phones out to snag his number. Grimmjow shrugged.

* * *

**I.K. – 9/5 Fri. – 11:12 am**

"Ichi, ya ready?"

Someone rapped against his door, and Ichigo glanced up from _The Miracle Worker_. He was so close to finishing. College life was pretty busy already, what with classes, homework, _and_ work at Dangai.

"Yeah, I'll be out in just a moment."

"'Kay." Ichigo heard Takeshi leave, and then pushed his book into his bag before leaving his room as well.

When he opened the door to the staircase (which was extremely heavy, just for the record), his eyes met blue – Grimmjow, was it? The guy who was in his Chemistry class and worked in Dangai with him. He had his hands in his jeans pockets and was looking up at Ichigo with only his eyes. They stared for a moment before Ichigo backed up to let him through, for the staircase was only wide enough to let one person through at a time. The guy passed by him without a word and Ichigo was off to the first floor common room, where Takeshi and Mugetsu were waiting for him.

"Ready?"

"Yep."

This time, Ichigo and Takeshi both rode on the back, since it wasn't too hot out today, more like cloudy and breezy. Mugetsu opened the divider and cranked up the radio so the two outside could hear as well before setting off on the three-hour drive home.

Their house wasn't much. Really. It was just a rented place in an apartment complex with barely enough room for two bedrooms, a bathroom, Mugetsu's office, and the foyer (which really just consisted of the kitchenette and some room for a TV and a couch).

"Ah-ha, home sweet home," Takeshi announced when they finally arrived, plopping down his bag onto the couch and following not long afterwards.

Ichigo was pretty sure Takeshi had rejected many invitations to hangouts or parties for the sake of being home this weekend. The albino probably had a lot of things he could be doing that was much better better than veg'ing out here. But… no matter how cheesy it sounded, that was the thing Ichigo loved about Takeshi – that he valued being home with him and Mugetsu more than he did his reputation or social life. That went for Mugetsu, as well, since he took off from his work to see them both.

They went out for ramen, having eaten granola bars and smoothies on the pickup as their lunch, and then watched television until late into the night. They quarreled about Mugetsu's girlfriend (and potential fiancée), then about Takeshi's male crush, then finally about Ichigo's non-existent partner and how they would murder whomever he fell for, whether male or female. It was a joke, of course, just a matter to laugh about, but he sometimes felt as if the older two actually did mean what they were saying. Ichigo was pretty sure he'd fallen asleep on the couch next to Mugetsu, Takeshi sprawled out on the floor before them, but when he woke up the next morning, he was in his own bed, his albino brother snoozing beside him.

* * *

**G.J. – 9/6 – Sat. – 1:18 pm**

"Two lattes for us and a caramel macchiato for him, please!" Nel ordered cheerily, gaining a smile from the waiter as he walked away.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. He had _told_ Nel he could handle some actual coffee for once; honestly, he wasn't even a kid. But of course, she would go ahead and order his favorite drink from _junior high._ Oh well, he would go along with it for today.

Elbows on the table and chin on her palms, Nel grinned happily at her brother who sat in front of her, and her boyfriend who sat to the right of her. She had practically begged Grimmjow to come with her and meet her lover, hanging on his every word before he said yes. Seeing those eyes, there was no way he could have rejected her… offer.

"Ah, this is so nice!" Nel smiled with both her eyes and lips as she faced the window of the little café they were in, humming a little tune from the radio on the way here. Grimmjow was leaned back in his chair, arms crossed and staring at the man beside his older sister.

Jeez. He hadn't even known she had a boyfriend. After that wimpy-looking guy named Dondochakka (?) (he didn't even know what she liked about that loser), he hadn't heard of anything regarding Nel dating anybody. But now, here he was, definitely staring, and a-little-more-than-half-glaring at this _Giovanni_.

**III**

_"Grimmy, wait! I have something suuuper important to tell you!"_

_"Yeah, yeah, what is it?"_

_"Okay, so," Nel breathed heavily, catching her breath from running to him all the way from the mathematics building. "Phew. Okay. I'm gonna get married, Grimmy!"_

_Oh, okay, cool._

_No, no, wait, WHAT?!_

_"Sorry? Whad'ya say?"_

_"I'm getting married when I graduate."_

_"…"_

_"Look, I know it's abrupt, but I've been dating him for nearly a year now… that's a record! And I just… He proposed just last week, and I guess, I really love him."_

_"…"_

_"So! I was thinking – it would be so nice if you came along to meet him this Saturday! I promise, he's a really great guy; you'll love him!"_

**III**

So now, here he was, sitting with a man who was dating his sister but he hadn't been aware of the fact until just a few days ago. All he knew about Giovanni was that 1) he was Greek-Italian 2) Nel called him Gio-chan 3) he was twenty-five – four years older than Nel (for now, since she would turn twenty-two in a couple of months) 4) he had dark, curly hair, and was slightly taller than even Grimmjow – which, of course, did not sit well with him at all.

The guy was actually really smiley. And it did seem as if he really loved Nel. That, of course, did _not_ mean Grimmjow approved of him. Although Nel would probably marry Giovanni anyway whether he approved of the fiancé or not.

Currently, Nel was in the bathroom, and she was taking an awful long time. Maybe she was fixing her makeup or something, but Grimmjow didn't mind how long she was taking at all. He loved glaring at the older man and probably making him feel rather uncomfortable. The guy had been trying to make small talk, but all Grimmjow had given him so far was a raise of the eyebrows without ever uncrossing his arms.

"So, uh, I heard you're a sophomore. How's school?"

All of a sudden, Grimmjow stood, approached the older man, and grabbed his collar, lifting him slightly from the chair. Well, not exactly lifting, really. Giovanni just straightened his back so he wouldn't choke from Grimmjow's aggressive move.

"Look, _Gio-chan,_" he said huskily, growling at the other's face. They were getting a few curious glances by now, but he didn't mind. "I don't care what the hell you do for a living, where in this shitty world you're from, or when you fuckin' met Nel. But, one thing. Make her cry, hurt her, and I fuckin' _murder _you."

He then let go, and shoved his hands back in his jeans pockets. Fishing out his phone from the right one, he quickly texted Nel, "_sry. leaving early cuz work. later."_

Glancing up at the clear blue sky, he exhaled deeply. He didn't really have work today; it was a Saturday, after all, and he only worked Mondays through Fridays. Sometimes, he worked Sundays when he needed to make up for missed shifts. He was pretty sure Nel knew it too. However, he really didn't feel like staying anymore. It was no use staying and ruining a date for the other two. So he took the opportunity to get a little exercise as he walked back to the dormitory, and then decided to stay there for the rest of the night, lying back on his bed and reading for his literature class. He turned down all the party/hangout invitations he received via text message, and when his eyes would no longer open for the book, he left it open on the floor and shut his eyes, not even bothering to turn off the light and only hoping he would remember the page number when he woke up, just in case the book closed during the night.

He dreamed of sharp orange mountains and trees that grew strawberries.

**III**

The next day, Grimmjow stayed mostly in his room, reading _The Miracle Worker_ and munching on uncooked Pop Tarts. His roommate seemed to have left for the weekend – not that he really cared, of course. He took a nap at noon, went back to reading, and then got up for a stretch after who-knows-how-long. He had finished the book.

A sudden scratching against the door made him jump. He turned his head toward it, and it opened.

* * *

**I.K. – 9/7 Sun. – 4:36 pm**

There was a boy in his room.

No, this should actually be completely natural since that was what was supposed to happen since the first day he arrived here. But he had gone a whole week without a roommate, and now it was strange to see someone he knew in his room. Someone he knew, but not as his roommate.

"Um."

Ichigo stumbled as he looked for the right thing to say. His eyes were wide and he was still standing in the doorway, probably looking absolutely moronic.

"Why're you here?" were the only words that made it out.

The blue-haired guy he knew as Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez from both his chemistry class and his workplace cocked his head, finally recovering from his own state of shock. "This is my room."

"… This is _my_ room."

"You're my roommate?"

"I'm your roommate?"

He stared, taking in the striking blue locks of hair that he saw not very long ago at all – in fact, he had seen them just last Friday at Dangai. Grimmjow never really even spoke to him, much less _look_ at him, and it was only natural that he supposed the guy just didn't like him. But… roommates? Really? They had been miraculously avoiding each other for the entire first week? Yeah.

"You're never in the room," Ichigo muttered, the door finally closing and he leaning back on it.

"Where've you been all weekend?"

"I never see you in the room."

"… Except at nights. And mornings."

"Too dark at night. And did you know you sleep with your head completely hidden under your blanket?"

"Well, you sleep too goddamn early, and wake up too goddamn early."

"Maybe that's why you're always late to chemistry."

"FYI, I always come in before the bell. Shihōin's just freaking strict."

"You should just come earlier."

"Where were you anyway?"

"None of your business."

Finally, Ichigo pushed off from the door and walked over to his desk, putting his stuff down, and then sprawling out on his bed. He glimpsed Grimmjow's expression before he turned around on the bed to face the wall; it was a frown at first, but then turned into a wide, toothy grin – almost maniacal, even. As Ichigo wedged his left hand between the mattress and his ear, he couldn't help but grin as well, even if he knew the other couldn't see. Or perhaps he only did it _because _Grimmjow couldn't see. Either way, he was tired for some reason, and when Grimmjow asked if he was going to sleep through the entire night like that, he just said no with a soft laugh. He told him it was only a light nap, and Grimmjow said he would wake him up for dinner.

Ichigo positively beamed.

* * *

_A special thanks to William Gibson for his book, The Miracle Worker, and to Rainbow Rowell for a very slightly altered version of a sentence in her book, Fangirl._

_This was a __**TERRIBLE**__ chapter, I know. But I promise it'll get better! It's just… God, I needed to get a few random thingamajiggies out of the way before some real… _stuff_ happened. Heh. In return, I'll make a quicker update._

_But hope you enjoyed, all the same __J_

_Thank you for all the reviews on the first chapter! They weren't too many, but it really boosted my mood._

_[ Jou ]_


	3. Chapter 3

**I.K. – 9/24 Wed. – 5:21 pm**

"All right, one last check up. Spaghetti alle vongole, ragù bolognes, and a Quattro formaggi, correct?" Ichigo listed off the orders he wrote down on his memo sheet and clicked his pen when he finished. Glancing around at the group of females that had entered the restaurant, he searched for their approval. When it was given to him, he nodded and smiled. "May I get you ladies anything to drink?"

"Oh!" The one with sea green hair – Nelliel – and the blond one – Rangiku – handed him all the menus. "Just ice water for all of us, please. I do think it's a little too early to start drinking!"

"What are you talking about? Drinking from broad daylight is the perfect way to spend a day!" Rangiku exclaimed with wide eyes. She received a hearty laugh from her friends and Ichigo, but he did hope she was only joking.

"Then I'll be back with five glasses for you all," Ichigo said with another smile. He grabbed the menus and turned around toward the kitchen.

God, this job was tiring. Not even the physical labor – he could handle that. It was all the smiling, being nice, et cetera, that was bothering him. It wore him out. But it was all right. The job paid well, and he enjoyed being with the other employees as well as seeing the satisfactory grins on the customers' faces.

Carrying five glasses of ice water to the two joined tables, Ichigo was careful not to spill a single drop. He had already broken a plate, three cups, and a wine glass; he didn't want to cause any more unnecessary trouble. However, that was not to be so, for as he neared the table that he had his eyes on, someone bumped into him with a small "oops, sorry" and caused him to lose balance. He looked up, catching a very brief glimpse of a tall, lanky man, but his attention almost immediately returned to the (failed) task at hand. As everything came sliding down the tray, he could only think of one word: shit.

"Oh, my God," a strawberry blond girl from the large table came rushing to his aid. Ichigo was holding the tray against his chest for dear life, three cups spilling all of their contents onto his clothes and the others just creating a giant pool on the tray. The girl hurriedly picked up the fallen cups and set it on the windowsill in front of them, and Ichigo noticed some water still remained in a few of them.

He didn't feel anything at first. He had just watched in shock as everything spilled. But then, the water soaked into his clothes and reached his skin, and the numbing coldness just kept spreading from there – all over his chest, stomach, and down his legs. He kept up an apologetic smile for the worried customers. Well, at least none of the glass had shattered.

"I'm so sorry about that! I'll bring you another set in just a moment… Sorry."

"Hey." As he made his way to the back, he glanced to see Isane smiling down at him. "I'll cover the water for you. Go dry up a little, okay? And nine glasses, right?"

Ichigo managed a smile of thanks and nodded, then found an extra towel to wipe himself down a bit. His shirt and pants were still drenched and freezing, but he would have to manage. He didn't have a change of clothes in the restaurant. He took off the apron, though, since it was wetter than anything else, and replaced the memo sheets he used to take orders. The next time he went out onto the floor was to deliver the pizza and pasta for the women who had ordered them.

**III**

"Jesus Christ… Thank God it was just water," Ichigo muttered to himself as he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it onto his bed. The water had dried up in the course of an hour and not much other damage had been done to his clothes. He slipped his thumbs into the hem of his jeans, but glanced up before pulling it down. Grimmjow was watching him from the other side.

"Aren't you… Turn around a bit, will you?" he said with a small twirl of his index.

"Hah? No." The guy remained stubborn and wouldn't budge. "Why? You secretly grew a pussy or something?"

… That crass way of speaking. It never ceased to astonish Ichigo.

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo sighed and stripped down to his boxers, then picked up his sweatpants before reconsidering. "I'm… gonna take a shower." And he left the room with his towel and toiletries.

After they had met for the first time (as roommates) on Sunday, not much had changed. Sure, they walked home together after work and said hello when they saw each other in the room, but nothing outside of it. They didn't have meals together. They didn't hang out during their free time. They barely even spoke to each other at work.

All this didn't really bother Ichigo. Much. He enjoyed their little chats and walks; that was for sure. But that didn't mean he _craved_ for more.

Did it?

Ichigo tossed the thought into a small corner of his mind and squeezed his eyes shut as he faced the showerhead above him. Lukewarm water sprayed his face and streamed down his entire body, and he turned the temperature up until he unintentionally flinched from the stinging heat.

When he finally pulled away, he was gasping for cool air. He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath all this time. Growing extremely hot, he turned the temperature down a little before hurrying through the shampoo, body wash, and brushing his teeth, rinsing himself off before turning the water off completely. Steam rose from his stall when he pulled the curtain open and cool air greeted him. He inhaled deeply and exhaled through his half-open mouth, then grabbed his towel to wipe away a bit of the water and tied it around his waist. He went back to his room like that.

"You're studying?" he asked Grimmjow when he saw the man sitting before a desk that wasn't Ichigo's. It was a rare sight – Grimmjow studying. The guy went out to a lot of parties and things, and honestly, Ichigo had no idea when he ever found the time to finish some homework. Maybe he did it all in passing periods between classes.

"Nah, man, just got sick of sitting in my bed all the time."

A grin broke out on Ichigo's face and he gave something like a semi-laugh. "That's stupid."

"D'you break anything today?" Grimmjow turned around to face him, and Ichigo noticed there really wasn't anything school-related on the desk.

"No. Just spilled." He then said playfully, "Thank you for worrying, though."

Grimmjow was staring at the ground, and he only shrugged when Ichigo thanked him. Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows and nodded slowly, biting his lip. God, he should really stop doing that. It had already bled once that week.

The conversation seemed to be over. Once Grimmjow was out of the room for a shower, Ichigo changed into a clean pair of boxers and a shirt much to big for him, then sank into his own chair to finish up his assignments.

* * *

**G.J. – 9/24 Wed. – 6:58 pm**

It was Nnoitra who tripped him. Ichigo, that is.

He had seen it happen. Nnoitra bumped into Ichigo's arm _on purpose_ and made him spill everything. The guy even had a grin on his face when he did it.

It had made Grimmjow fume inside. To see someone take pleasure in humiliating somebody like that.

He never actually meant to refuse when Ichigo told him to turn around so he could take off his clothes in privacy. It just… came out like that. And when Ichigo stripped right in front of him, he nearly lost his cool. He had to whip around and pretend to mess with the little fan he owned, or else Ichigo would have noticed his hard-on. He could relax only after the orangette left the room.

"Holy shit," he muttered under his breath as he stared down at his own erection. What the hell? What was wrong with him? He hadn't just gotten hard because he'd seen a half-naked man, had he? Was that even possible?

He tried to will it down; he really did. But he just ended up solving the problem on his own with his hand.

Wiping himself with Kleenex tissues, Grimmjow sat back down on his chair. Was he… gay? No. No way. He wasn't. He was as straight as any man could be. He had dated a countless number of girls and had fucked even more. But never a guy. He'd never felt any sort of attraction at all toward the male species; why should this one be any different?

It must have been some sort of rushing-hormones-thing where he got a very random boner that happened to strike just when Ichigo took off his clothes. He'd seen Ichigo before, right? Him taking off his clothes. He'd seen it quite a few times now, so it had to do something with, like, his hormones.

"You're studying?"

The familiar voice startled him, and he wondered what Ichigo would think if he ever found out about Grimmjow's masturbation. Well, it wasn't even because of Ichigo, so it would be okay… right?

Caught off-guard, he said something absolutely moronic. Seriously? Sick of the bed? What the hell? But Ichigo laughed. Chuckled. Giggled. Whatever. _He smiled for him._

Grimmjow turned around in his chair, his heart skipping a beat. _Holy fuck._ Ichigo was _naked._

Well, not _completely _naked, but still, naked enough. The guy only had a just-a-little-longer-than-knee-length towel around his waist, and some parts of his upper body were still moist from the shower. And of course, his hair was still wet. Almost dripping, even. He noticed that Ichigo never really dried his hair well. It was falling all over his eyes, and the normally upright spikes were brought down with warm water.

He had to escape. _Fast._

When silence fell onto the room again, Grimmjow headed out to the bathroom, taking a towel, toiletries, and his sleepwear.

There was another freshman in there, but it seemed he was finished for he was all dressed and drying his hair. Grimmjow paid no mind as he stripped and stepped into a stall.

Hot water cascaded down his backside, and he moved around a little so that he could get his entire body wet.

He wasn't gay. That was for sure. So what just happened?

Since when had he become this way?

He recalled the first time he ever saw the orangette – in chemistry. The man's eccentric hair pigment had caught his attention. Then, it was at that party. He had pretended not to know the guy. And then at Dangai…

The way Nnoitra treated Ichigo – first leering over him because he was cute, then pushing him like that just for the heck of it – made his blood boil.

. . .

He… he hadn't been mad only because somebody thought it was fun to embarrass someone else.

He had been mad because someone was able to get so close to Ichigo. Sure, he slept in the same room as the orangette, not to mention they also worked together, but…!

"… Shit…"

* * *

**I.K. – 9/20 Sat. – 1:01 pm**

"Dude, I swear, I think that girl really likes you," said Renji, a cup of frozen yogurt in hand, strolling down the street, chewing on a pink plastic spoon.

"What? No." Ichigo walked alongside him, licking his own yogurt off a green spoon.

They had just had lunch and swung by Menchie's since Ichigo hadn't gone home this weekend. Before entering Crazy Shirts, they finished up their treats and threw the cups away.

"It's so freaking obvious. You said she was also the one that helped you out at work, right? When you spilled all that water."

"That was only common courtesy," Ichigo disagreed, recalling the incident at Dangai.

"Seriously, Ichigo? No one helps a waiter."

"That is so not true."

"Well, anywho, she was literally gawping at you. Like, nonstop."

At Renji's words, Ichigo stopped shuffling through shirts and gave him a look, as if to say, _Really?_

"You kidding me? _What _move?"

"C'mon. The girl likes you. Flirt with her a little, then ask her out! Who knows what could happen after that?"

"Hell. No." He went back to looking at T-shirts while Renji babbled on beside him.

"Why the hell not? I mean, what's her name again?"

"Inoue."

"First or last name?"

"Last."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"Start calling her by her first name. It'll drive the girl right to the top, yeah?"

"Yeah-no. You don't even know for sure whether she likes me or not. You can't just _assume_ that and expect me to pretend to like her solely based on that ludicrous assumption."

Renji rolled his eyes. "It's not a _ludicrous assumption_," he said with air-quotes around the last two words. "It's a theory that will soon develop into a theo_rem_ when you _make a move_!"

Ichigo just raised an eyebrow, then went back to rifling through shirts. He wasn't really shopping, per se, but he needed something to do while listening to Renji's bantering.

"Like, look at the way she was acting back at Menchie's. All like," – here, he began speaking in a sudden high-pitched voice that was supposed to represent Inoue's voice – "Kurosaki-kun! Oh, how wonderful to see you here! Please, take anything you want! I'll make it free of charges, just for you, my love! No, why don't you take _me_ home with you, while you're at it!"

"She did _not _say that."

"I mean, I didn't even know she worked there…" Rolling his eyes again, Renji sighed. "Whatever. Just saying."

Ichigo scoffed, and went back to the various assortments of shirts. "Mm… Renji, you know, I might start working here. Or somewhere else."

"Huh? Don't you work at that restaurant already?"

"I do, but I want to earn some more."

"Eh? 'Cause of Mugetsu-san?"

"Yeah… I think he's getting married. He wants to. He has a girlfriend and everything and it's already been two years since they started dating. Take-nii's working a lot too. Sort of wanna take the burden off of Getsu-nii's shoulders, even just a little bit, you know?"

"Mm," Renji hummed, watching Ichigo's face. The guy's eyes were downcast, and his voice had become lower. "Does Mugetsu-san know all this?"

"… No. I feel like he'll tell us to stop working at once if he ever finds out. He's just that kind of guy."

"Exactly. That's what I thought. But y'know, if he doesn't want you guys to be doing all this, maybe you should lay off a bit, don't you think?"

"No, no, don't you get it?" He raised his head, eyes looking up at the taller redhead. "We've been laying off all these years while Getsu-nii worked his ass off to get us a good education and everything. And he's the one that wanted to go to college. More than Take-nii, and even me. He really wanted to go to college and everything, but he couldn't. Because of us."

Damn, he had gone into a freaking _life story_ in the spur of the moment. Ichigo groaned inwardly, but he was glad it was Renji, not anyone else. He could trust Renji, and he knew the guy already knew all of this anyway.

"Hey, but you don't really have to blame yourselves for that. I mean, it was your parents, wasn't it? Originally. And you all got scholarships for the school… so…"

Ichigo shrugged. A sign he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Renji sighed.

"Well, Dangai pays well, right? Besides, Mugetsu-san wanted you to have a real good college life. That's why he gave up his own education to work for you, am I right? So… wouldn't that be a waste? Personally, I think you should just stick to what you have now and just rely on Mugetsu-san for a little longer. Appreciate what he's done for you, even if it's only for a few more years or so."

"But I do appreciate—"

"C'mon, Ichigo."

"…"

Perhaps, Renji was right. Ichigo couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of expression Mugetsu would wear if he ever found out about the brothers' extra work. It would probably be the I-couldn't-even-provide-well-enough-for-my-own-little-brothers sad face. He didn't think he would be able to bear with that.

"Yeah. Okay."

Renji grinned widely. "Good."

**III**

They ended up buying a T-shirt each (Renji got a white one that said Red Pineapple, and Ichigo got a navy one with a yellow 15 on the sleeve – nothing much; they had picked the least flashiest shirts they could find), and then went back to campus to play pool for a bit. Ichigo won the round, but then Renji won most games of Ping-Pong they played, and they eventually decided to equally share the price of two sodas and a bag of chips.

"You sure, man? It's gonna be awesome." Renji was trying to convince Ichigo to come to this party he was going to while he changed in his room. Ichigo was sitting on his friend's bed noticing just how big of a pigsty the redhead lived in. It seemed his roommate – Ikkaku – wasn't too different either.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm probably just gonna go down to the court and play with the other baller kids, you know?"

"Eh… Okay, then. If you get bored, you can always come down and hang out."

After writing down the address of the place in which the party would take place, Renji left the dorm with a new friend of his, and Ichigo returned to his own room.

What to do now? He had rejected the party idea, but he didn't have anything else to do. Maybe he should really go play basketball, as he had told Renji. Grimmjow was out as well, and he… really hadn't made many friends on campus. Except those girls who acted really close to him, but he just kind of felt uncomfortable around them. Besides, they were probably out on some sort of party, anyway.

So, Ichigo changed into his shorts and jogged down to where the court was – a little far from his dormitory, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. As usual, the ballers were already playing and they greeted Ichigo gladly. This was what he liked about these ballers. He could join their play anytime and things would just go smoothly. Nothing had to get too complicated with them when they were playing basketball. Just come along and butt in; let us all unite as family through basketball!

They played until six, walked to the dining hall to eat, and then played some more. Ichigo had sweat _dripping_ from his hairline and down his jaw by the time they split. He took a cold shower because it was much too hot to bask in warm water, and he liked the feeling of having cool streams ride down his body. It was nearly nine when he turned on his phone back in the room, and then plugged in his earphones.

His earphones were the type that had cushy things on the ends so that they fit snugly inside your ears and you couldn't really hear anything else once you turned the music up. They were white and blue and someone had once told him that it looked good in contrast to his hair, so he quite liked it. And he also liked music. He had over three hundred songs on his phone that he had collected over the years (his audio took up more space than his apps or photos did), and he was quite proud of his collection. It was sort of like the collections of books he had back home.

Back home. In his room. The room that he and Takeshi shared. In the large, wooden bookshelf beside the door; on the windowsill in front of the cushion Ichigo liked to sit on when reading; even on his desk that he was supposed to do his homework on, there were books. Books were _piled_ everywhere. But he always did his homework on the bed, so that didn't really matter. His desk was for other things. Like maybe, putting books on, or storing food in, or throwing all his stuff at when he came back to the room, uncaring whether something actually landed on the hard wood surface or not.

Being all alone in a two-person bedroom gave Ichigo a lot more time to _think_ than he would have liked. Like, for example, about Inoue. She was cute. He wasn't absolutely _positive_ that she liked him, of course, but it sure seemed like she did. Not that that meant he liked her back or anything.

He had had girlfriends. As far back as he could remember, there was always at least one person that liked him. Since pre-k to high school, there had been no instance when no one at all seemed to take interest in him. In high school, there had even been a few males that approached him in hopes of finding a partner, but Ichigo had rejected. He didn't think he rolled that way. He had dated a guy in freshman year, but it turned out he was only wanted for sex, and Ichigo hadn't even known sex was possible between two men. Apparently, it was.

And they did it through the _backside_. If that was really the case, he didn't think he ever wanted to do it.

* * *

**G.J. – 10/2 Thu. – 2:34 pm**

Aw, this was bad.

He wanted Ichigo Kurosaki.

He accepted the fact by now. Every time he saw Ichigo, he wanted to slam him up against a wall and kiss him until neither of them could breathe.

Was that bad?

Whenever Ichigo blushed (which – Grimmjow noticed – he did quite often) he wanted to squeeze the man to death for being so… _cute_.

Was _that_ bad?

It made his blood boil and his chest tighten when Ichigo was with that strawberry blonde. What was her name? Some princess. Well, Princess didn't have to be _that_ close to Ichigo. Couldn't they just speak normally? Like normal people who have normal conversations at normal distances?

They seemed to get along really well. Princess came around to Dangai more often and always sat in a table Ichigo was in charge of, or managed to find Ichigo and always ordered from him. Grimmjow had even requested a rearrangement of the tables, but he couldn't exactly give a legitimate reason to explain himself, so the assigned tables remained.

Plus, who knew where else those two went to out of the restaurant?

"Jaegerjaquez! Snap out of it!"

Grimmjow was woken from his daze by a loud clap in his face.

"Ah, Ikumi-san," he acknowledged. "What do you need?"

The woman glared at him. "What do I need? You're seriously asking me that? Go get your orders and everything? What're you spacing out for!"

_Hah?! How about Ichigo? He's socializing like there's no fucking tomorrow! _But he didn't say that, and Ichigo was still talking to Princess. He had only gone there to give her some ice water, but it seemed they were now caught up in the middle of a full-on conversation.

"Okay, okay, sorry," Grimmjow muttered.

He was tired. He should really cut down on the number of parties he attended. Like Ichigo. How come it seemed like Ichigo never really enjoyed going to parties? Maybe the kid was a social freak. Or maybe that was just his hopes and imaginations going wild. Ichigo got along just fine with customers… so that couldn't be it. Ichigo was a _social butterfly._

Or, he was, as far as Grimmjow could tell.

**III**

The air was already turning cooler, the leaves falling from their branches. The roads were soon covered with dead leaves that crunched noisily whenever Grimmjow walked on it. He hated fall.

He hated it because the noisy leaves were annoying. He hated it because it wasn't cold or hot; it was just stuck in the middle and he thought that was a terrible thing to be. He hated how everything was slowly dying in autumn, as if they were desperately trying to leave a mark but all they could really do was be crushed ruthlessly under sneakers and boots and irritate people's eardrums.

He hated fall.

The only person he had ever told that to was Nel. She told him that some people loved fall because the sounds leaves make are actually pleasant to the ear, and not so annoying at all. She said some people like how fall was a not-too-cold-not-too-hot-perfect-breezy-weather sort of season. She said some people thought that, in fall, everything was falling apart in order to give birth to the next generation – new colors and new lives beginning in the coming spring.

And after hearing Nel say those things, he decided they were actually okay reasons. It was really deep, considering it was Nel who said it. Other people had the right to think what they wanted to think about the season, but so did he. And he decided that even after all that, he still disliked fall.

He didn't even know why he was having this mental debate with himself.

"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow!" The door opened and Grimmjow turned his head to see Ichigo step out of the restaurant, his apron and notepad being the only things he left behind.

"That took you long enough," Grimmjow muttered and began walking out of the narrow alleyway out to the main street.

"Sorry," Ichigo said with a shrug, "but you didn't have to wait for me, you know."

The bluenette almost halted completely, but continued with his long strides. "What's the point? You're going to run and catch up anyway. Your panting is irritating as hell." Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

The lovely noise of Ichigo's laugh resounded from between straight lips. "Whatever you say." Sliding slender hands into the pockets of his white hoodie, Ichigo jogged into step with Grimmjow.

Okay. Now's the time. Ask!

"Hey… Ichigo." They walked alongside each other, yet neither seemed to want to look one another in the eye.

"Hmm?"

"Are you dating Prin… that girl? Busty one? She comes often these days."

No reply. Grimmjow glanced down to see cheeks tinted a slight pink, and his chest tightened from whatever emotion he was feeling. He chose not to show it.

"Ehhh – so you _are_ going out with her."

"No – yeah – no, just… yeah. I mean no. No, we're not."

"Since when?"

"We're not dating."

"Wow. Got into her pants yet?"

Ichigo glanced up in horror, and then punched Grimmjow's arm. "Dude!"

It didn't hurt. Ichigo probably hadn't meant it. "S'that a yes?"

"'Course it's a no! You're not listening to me."

"How's it feel like?"

"We're _not_ going out."

Grimmjow paused and stared at the shorter man for a long moment. Ichigo looked up at him curiously, honey-brown eyes refusing to back down from piercing azure.

"Okay," was all he said.

"… What was that look for?" Ichigo asked, confused, a playful grin dancing across his oh-so-perfect features.

"Nothin'. Stop following me."

"But this is the way to Clarken."

"Come later. After me."

"Hell no, why should I?"

"… You annoy me."

And then, Ichigo was laughing, the sound reverberating through the chilly air and strangely empty streets. Soon enough, the once-green leaves would be painted in colors as bright as Ichigo's hair – no, that was a little exaggerated… Ichigo's hair was _bright_. Was it natural? He would ask sometime.

When they got back, they both took a shower (in different stalls, of course, and Grimmjow _almost_ had to jack off in silence), and Ichigo turned on some music for the both of them using Grimmjow's portable speakers. He could never admit it aloud, but Grimmjow did enjoy indie – as much as he enjoyed punk rock or dubstep.

"Ichigo."

"Mm – what?"

Grimmjow shuffled around in his bed, and then, deciding against his pillow (as always), snatched it from under his head to wedge it between his arms. Shiiit, he never acted like this before in front of… well, in front of anyone! Not even in front of his elementary crush!

"There's, like, a party on Halloween. I know it's a bit early, but it's gonna be pretty big, y'know? I was wondering… ah, well, Nel and peeps asked if you wanted to join us. Like, unless you have any other plans, of course."

Silence followed, and Grimmjow focused his eyes on a certain crease in his pillow, following the lines and dips, moving onto the ones next to it…

"Okay, sure."

"What?"

"I said sure. I mean, I don't have much else to do… unless you weren't really asking me and you just wanted to be nice… In that case, it's fine, I have plans."

"Oh… okay, cool. I'll get you details. Later." _Okay, cool? Seriously? Stupid._ "Um, you can invite a friend if you want."

"Cool."

"Yeah. Cool."

"… 'Night."

"Yeah."

* * *

_I think Grimmjow might be slightly OOC – out-of-character – in some scenes. However, I think that's just what happens when one has a crush on someone. I mean, when you really like someone, I think a lot of people would get jealous, even if the opponent weren't exactly "yours" yet. You get nervous too, don't you? Anyway, this is just how I saw him, and I hope you like it too! =)_

_By the way, if you think things are moving too fast (as in, the crush-thing) please keep in mind the dates. They're slowly growing closer, and I believe that's plenty of time to develop feelings for someone, especially when they share a room and everything…_

_Otherwise, just, please excuse other plot issues (minor, of course… I hope *^*)!_

**_AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRIMMJOW! (JULY 31ST) I love him so much and I really hope he comes back in the manga!_**

_Thanks, you all!_

_[ Jou ]_


	4. Chapter 4

**I.K. – 10/24 Fri. – 7:11 pm**

"It's right across the street from where you work," Renji said about a certain bookstore Ichigo hadn't known about until just a minute ago. "You seriously didn't notice? It literally says _Urahara's Bookstore_!"

The orangette just shook his head as he stared at the little shop before him with unbelieving eyes. Renji just sighed. He was a big sigh-er, and he was also a big eye-roller. No one could roll his or her eyes like Renji could. In Ichigo's eyes, his red-haired friend was a legend when it came to rolling his eyes. Like, damn.

"Man, Ichigo. You gotta start paying more attention to your surroundings. You're always walking around so immersed in your own daydreams that you barely notice anything else."

They were standing in front of a little shop with sliding doors and paperback books on display. Back home, Ichigo often dragged Renji to bookstores and spent hours in there, once staying up to five hours just browsing and reading. Renji always complained about it, but he always went with Ichigo anyway. Ichigo hadn't known a bookstore even existed in the area, so he could only visit one when he went back home with Takeshi and Mugetsu. This time, however, Renji had asked him whether he'd gone to the one near the college, and when Ichigo said no with extremely wide eyes, Renji took him to this place – Urahara's Bookstore.

Suddenly, the main door slid open and a blond man in a green-and-white-striped hat peeked out at them. The two started and stared.

"Would you two like to step inside?"

**III**

The name of the man who greeted them was Kisuke Urahara, the owner of the store. He was _eccentric_, at the very least. With the bucket hat hiding most of the blond tufts of hair, the rest of him was clad in a dark haori and a matching green outfit underneath. Every time the man took a bouncing step, his wooden sandals clicked beneath him.

"Welcome, welcome. First of all, may I ask you why you were lingering in front of someone else's store? I must say, it may have looked rather suspicious to a stranger's eyes." Urahara snapped open a fan in front of his face.

"Err," Renji said with a glance toward Ichigo, "we were just talking. Sorry 'bout that."

Then, the owner laughed heartily, softly fanning himself. "Oh, no, worry not. I was merely teasing. Then, I will leave you two to your own conversations. Happy shopping!"

_If I were that guy just now, what would I have said? Happy browsing! Happy reading! _The man picked the safest word – in Ichigo's opinion. Or maybe he had just spoken without much thought at all.

They looked around for a bit, and then settled in the manga section. Renji's request.

"That dude. He's a little weird," the redhead commented, to which Ichigo agreed.

"Oh, by the way, there's gonna be a Halloween party," Ichigo said, suddenly recalling Grimmjow's invitation and the note that he could invite a friend. "On Halloween. Come."

Getting no reply, he glanced up from fingering through manga to meet his friend's eyes.

"What?" he asked when Renji just stared.

"Eh? Oh, no, just – you never go to parties. How come… this one?" Ichigo stared for a moment, then shrugged. Honestly, he didn't even know. When Grimmjow asked him if he wanted to come that Thursday night, he had just replied without giving much thought to the idea. It just came out instinctively, even though his typical response would be a no.

"Dunno. It's Halloween, I guess. Listen, you coming or not?"

"I'll come, I'll come. Who's hosting?"

"I think it's my roommate's sister. Or one of her friends. Or one of his. I'm not sure. It's on Halloween… That's all I really know. My roommate's taking me there so I guess he didn't really feel the need to tell me much else."

"Awesome-sauce. Costume party?"

"Yeah, I think so. We're not going trick-or-treating, though." Renji laughed, and Ichigo smiled. He turned a book around in his hand to read the summary, then skimmed through the black and white pages.

It seemed it was a manga about people called "shinigami" – or death gods – and this teenage boy who one day becomes one in order to protect his family from a monster – apparently called "hollows." Meh. Not his type. He squeezed the book back into the bookshelf.

God, he couldn't even focus on manga. He had to read that summary _six_ times in order to process the content in his mind. His thoughts were back on Thursday night, his blue-haired roommate half-naked and dripping wet from the hot shower. Why had he accepted the invitation, really? His mind had been a haze. By the way, Grimmjow had a really good body. Admirable. He had perfectly chiseled abs. The back and shoulder muscles as well - very well-toned. And his biceps were quite the sight, too.

He sniffed. His nose was running, and he hated it.

"Dude, Ichigo, you got a cold, man?"

With a sniff, Ichigo turned around, shaking his head. Renji was holding a book with that ninja boy on the cover – he couldn't remember the name, though, and Renji was covering the title with his fingers.

"Ichigo!" Renji's eyes got all wide and he leaned down to get a closer look at his friend's face. "Dude, you have a nosebleed."

Blinking stupidly, Ichigo brought his hand up to wipe his nose on the back of it. A bright scarlet smudged the skin when he glanced back down at it, and droplets kept falling and coloring it until Renji snapped his chin up so no more blood could drip.

"Crap… Wait here, I'll go get some tissue, yeah?" Ichigo attempted a nod, but Renji frowned and kept his head in place. "Idiot, don't do that."

When Renji walked away, Ichigo was left alone staring at the ceiling. He leaned back and laid his head on the shelf, bloody hand hanging in midair and other hand holding a manga. It'd been so long since his last nosebleed. In fact, the last time it had happened was back when Mugetsu had just left the orphanage and Ichigo just wasn't getting enough sleep. Takeshi had been there to help him back then.

"Tired much?" Ichigo looked to his left, and Renji held out a tissue for him to take. Several others lay pinched between the fingers of his other hand, just in case. Ichigo shrugged in answer to his question and thanked him.

"Dunno…" He held the tissue to his nose and held his head up to hopefully stop the blood flow.

"Well… I know for sure that that Urahara dude is fucking insane. He has a thousand boxes of Kleenex! Not joking, seriously. He has a fucking _storage_ of Kleenex. He just plucked one and handed it to me, but I only took a few and gave it back. Um, did you need the rest?" Renji watched him worriedly, and Ichigo shook his head softly. He took another tissue from the redhead's hand since the first was soaked in red, and the blood still didn't seem to want to stop. Maybe he actually did need the rest of that tissue box.

He was getting more sleep than he had in high school, and he'd never bled back then, so why now?

"Anyway," Renji said, his face brightening suddenly. "How's it going with the gir – I mean, Inoue?"

"… She said her roommate likes celery."

"The heck? I'm not asking about _those _things, idiot."

When Ichigo looked at him curiously over the bunched up tissue at his nose, Renji sighed real dramatically. "Um… _She _likes celery?"

"I'm saying. You dating her yet or something?"

"What? No!"

"But I heard you talk to her a lot these days. You even hang out together, right? Like having lunch or something?"

"Yeah… I talk to her. We hang out. But that doesn't mean we're dating!"

"Pfft," Renji snorted. "Does too. Stop being such a pussy and ask her out, man!"

"But I don't… I don't feel that way about her…"

"Thou shalt not lie to thy redheaded friend, Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo laughed at that.

"I don't know… I like her maybe. Just… She's a good person. Nice friend, y'know?"

"Nope. Don't know."

"Ahh, shut up. I don't know." Ichigo waved his friend off, hence dismissing the conversation. He raised the tissue off his face and felt around his nose. The bleeding seemed to have stopped for now. Renji gave him a nod to signify there was no more dried blood on his face, and then went back to browsing.

What _did_ he think about her though?

The sun was just beginning to set when they left the store (having not bought anything), and the sky was painted a brilliant mixture of warm colors. Dried leaves lay scattered on the concrete grounds, several more still fluttering down from unique branches. Ichigo tugged on his coat and hugged himself slightly to generate more heat. It was getting chillier by day.

When Ichigo got back, Grimmjow wasn't there. The room was empty and eerily quiet. It had always been like this before, when they somehow never saw each other for the first week of college, but now that they did see each other and spent quite a bit of time together in the room, it got sort of lonely when Grimmjow wasn't in.

A noisy electric beat rang from his phone, and Ichigo quickly fished it out from his coat that he had thrown onto his bed. It was an unknown number. Usually, Ichigo wouldn't pick up those kinds of numbers, but what else was there to do? If it was spam, he would make small talk with whoever was on the other end of the line just to annoy them until they hung up on him first. He used to do that a lot with his friends back in junior high. He swiped the screen with his finger and raised it to his ear.

"Hello?" he said into the phone, sitting down on his chair and getting ready for a nice little chat.

"Ichigo?" This voice…

"… Grimmjow?"

"Oh, okay, I thought it was someone else for a minute." A grin slowly made its way onto Ichigo's face.

"How'd you get my number?"

"Uh… from Nel. She had your number." There was a lot of background noise.

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah. So… did you wanna… like…"

"Sorry?"

"Um. Never mind. I'm gonna be late, so… you can lock the door, I guess. You don't need to wait for me."

Ichigo sucked his lip in and bit down hard, preventing himself from saying anything. The grin on his face no longer existed. He felt like the time back when he was at the orphanage, and Mrs. Moretski had come in with a fallen expression to inform Takeshi and him that Mugetsu could not come back to get them for another year or so. Takeshi had been fourteen at the time, Ichigo eleven. Twenty-year-old Mugetsu had already been gone for nearly two years, and the younger two had been _waiting_ for him to return. _I'll come back for you in a year's time,_ he had said. And they had waited. And waited. And waited. It had been awfully lonely back then, even with all the other kids swarming the little brick building, they wanted out. They wanted to get out of the orphanage and live with Mugetsu.

"Ichigo?"

"Huh? Oh. Sorry. Okay. You have your key?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Bye."

"Yeah, 'kay. Bye."

A long silence settled in on the conversation, and they both stayed quiet for a minute, each waiting for the other to put the phone down first.

It was Grimmjow who hung up first.

There was no homework left that needed to be done. There was no class left that needed to be attended. There was no activity left that needed to be participated in. Ichigo cranked up his music and plugged in his earphones after changing, deciding not to bother himself with a shower. He sank into his bed and pushed his pillow into his face, letting go only when he couldn't breathe well anymore.

He fell asleep thinking about Mugetsu and his girlfriend, who were probably going to get married soon. Ichigo was happy for them. Suzumi was a kind person, not to mention very beautiful. He hadn't seen her in a while, but he remembered she had sleek black hair like Mugetsu's and eye color just as dark. And then his mind wandered to Takeshi and _his_ new boyfriend that the albino had only just recently told him about. It was a guy named Uryu Ishida, who Takeshi had had a crush on since, like, forever (which really meant since the beginning of the year). He thought of Renji's words, and Orihime Inoue, who was cute and kind and perfect material for a nice girlfriend.

And then, strangely enough, his mind filled with the color blue.

He wondered when Grimmjow would be coming back.

* * *

**G.J. – 10/24 Fri. – 10:07 pm**

"Bye."

As Grimmjow clicked his phone off, he let out a deep breath, realizing he'd been holding it for quite a while now.

"Grimmy!" He looked up to see Nel with her boyfriend. Giovanni still seemed to be slightly nervous around Grimmjow (although, the bluehead was pretty sure the guy could beat him up in a matter of minutes if he really wanted), but the two were a little too drunk to care anymore.

"'Sup."

"So is Ichi-tan coming?" Ichi-chan? What the hell? She's got to be drunk.

"No…" _I couldn't ask him._ "He's… busy."

"Haaa, but it would've been fun with him here," Nel whined, and Grimmjow shrugged. Her friends were next to her by now, and they all looked like they were having fun. In other words, they were completely stoned.

He was sitting at the bar. He wasn't exactly in the mood for dancing or "clubbing hardcore" like the others. All throughout the night, he'd been drinking a little, and that was it.

"Another glass?" Grimmjow turned around at the voice, away from Nel and her gang. His eyes fell on a man with feminine features: jaw-length black hair with colorful feathers decorating his right eye. The man's name was Luppi Antenor, the bartender, offering him some more bourbon.

Grimmjow considered finishing for the night and returning to the dorm.

Ichigo.

"Yeah, thanks." He gulped down half the cup as soon as it was filled for him.

"No problem," Luppi said slowly, wiping a glass.

One would have to be extremely slow not to notice the way the man looked at him. Grimmjow liked the other bartender much better, because for one, Starrk didn't prey on drunk customers. While Luppi only looked to get laid, Starrk actually _knew_ how to deal with people at the bar. Besides, Grimmjow wasn't even that drunk.

Ignoring the leering man, Grimmjow took another sip. His furrowed eyebrows just would not relax. Why the hell would he chicken out from asking Ichigo to join them down at Las Noches? He had invited him to the Halloween party. So…

"Tsk." He stood abruptly, startling the bartender. Handing him the money, Grimmjow waited for his change before leaving the bar. Just in case, he texted Nel; although he doubted she would be able to think straight enough to read it properly anyways.

The night air was… _not _fresh. The stench of sweat, alcohol, and cigarettes stank up the entire area and Grimmjow scrunched up his nose in revolt. He hadn't realized how drunk he was, for now that he was out of the crazy-dancing-lights-and-blaring-music zone, he noticed just how heavy his body felt. The alleyways were spinning just a little in his eyes, but not enough to make him feel like puking.

"Eyy, Grimmjow," a familiar voice called out. He turned around. A tall figure stumbled over to him, a few others behind him.

"Nnoitra," the blue-haired man acknowledged with a nod.

"Tha' short guy atcher workplace tol' me ya room wit' Ichigo," the taller man said, slurring his words even more than usual. Grimmjow had never liked that guy. Nnoitra was terribly crass and without proper education, always dragging around his gang wherever he went. They just fooled around wherever and whenever was convenient for them, but as long as their daily activities did not interfere with Grimmjow's, he didn't mind them too much. Ignoring them was the best way, he had decided a while ago.

"Yeah, man… What about it?" He tried to keep his cool, but he didn't like the way Nnoitra licked his lips, or the heated look in the lanky man's eye. Grimmjow recognized two blond men, a raven-haired man, and an absolutely humongous Asian all of whom were standing behind Nnoitra. They all reeked of alcohol and vomit.

"Introduce 'im to us next time, won't cha, kitty-boy? I wanna fuck 'im 'till he fuckin' bleeds, man…"

With an elongated yell, Grimmjow charged at the man, getting a good punch in the cheek. He huffed with rage, growling as Nnoitra staggered back and his cronies got all defensive. Rubbing a now-sore cheek, the seven-foot-tall man spitting at the ground.

"Dude… what the fuck, man?" Nnoitra only looked dazed, not too angry, thank goodness. Grimmjow knew he shouldn't cause any more trouble. Normally, he would be able to take on five guys at once, but these guys were actual hoods. They fought on the streets – that was literally all they did. They fought people, raped people, got drunk, stole, et cetera. Plus, he wasn't sure he could beat the ones who taught him how to fight in the first place.

Lowering his head, Grimmjow clenched his fists to keep himself from attacking once more. It had happened so fast, he hadn't been able to stop himself from landing at least one punch. Shit, this was getting rather… out of hand.

**III**

"_Don't cry," a soft voice spoke. "Shh, it's okay."_

_The little girl held the crying boy in her arms, and although she was barely even six, she had a vague idea of what was going on. Her parents had gone out one day and brought back a little boy with them. He was even younger than she was – maybe four. At first, it seemed he only wanted to scowl. He refused to eat, and had a hard time going to sleep at night. Nel didn't like him very much. He was just a grumpy little boy who didn't know how to appreciate her parents' kindness._

_But then he wandered into her room one day, a few months later. Nelliel had been playing with her dolls, dressing them up and arranging them on the white shelf above her bed. Papa was at work, and Mama was at the grocery store. She was supposed to be watching the house and her 'brother' for just twenty minutes. When the little boy barged in without permission and stared at the room, then at her, she snapped. _

"_What do you want?" she had said, her tone vicious. She had glared heatedly at the boy, wanting him to step out of her room now._

_The way his eyes widened back then, she could never forget. The boy dashed out of the room, leaving the door wide open. Nel tried to go back to her dolls, but her mind was elsewhere – with the blue-haired boy, his ever-permanent scowl, and the odd marks by his big cyan eyes._

_When Nel ran out to look for him, she found him curled up against the wall at the back of the house, crying. Her young heart practically broke in half at the sight, the jagged edges piercing her chest with every sob that escaped the boy's lips. She took a step towards him, whereas his eyes snapped up and his cries halted momentarily._

_And then tears leaked, streamlined down his puffy cheeks, his jaw hanging open and emitting odd choking noises. Nelliel knelt down and pulled the boy into her embrace, tucking his bright blue head under her chin and his shaking body within the cage of her little arms. She took off the hat she _always_ wore around – it looked like a broken comical mask: a character from a popular kids' cartoon – and pat it into place on the boy's head. His unseen cries stopped then, and he slowly looked up. Nelliel smiled down at him, and he stared with huge eyes, as if it was the brightest thing he'd ever seen in his life._

_Grimmjow. The boy's name was Grimmjow. That was what Mama and Papa had said. Now, he was a Jaegerjaquez. Her little brother._

**III**

Grimmjow woke up inside the club, which was still as lively as ever. How had he fallen asleep in such a noisy environment? Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he got up from the little booth he was in and asked someone for the time. It was two in the morning, which meant he had been sleeping for a lot longer than he first thought.

Blinking stupidly, he flopped back down on the cushy chairs and checked his phone. He had forgotten he had it with him.

_Missed calls (1)_

_Text messages (2)_

They were from Ichigo.

"_when r u coming back?"_

"_are u staying out today?"_

"_okay. g'night."_

Groaning to himself, Grimmjow leaned his head back against the wall where the chair didn't quite reach. Nnoitra and his gang had been way to stoned to get serious with his punch, and when he got back inside, he ended up fucking some tiny chick that didn't even have proper boobs. Forcing himself to stand, he stumbled his way to the exit.

"Leaving, Jack-chan?" It was Rangiku, face red – probably drunk and stoned – in a booth near the door. That creepy fox-face guy was beside her, arm around her shoulders and glaring up at Grimmjow. Well, at least, he _thought_ the man was glaring. He couldn't really tell since Gin's eyes were fucking tiny. Or he just never really opened them. Whatever.

"Yeah," he muttered, ignoring the nickname. "Gotta get back. Tell Nelliel for me, would ya?"

"_Ryoukai,_" she said with a wide grin and an 'okay' via slim fingers. Rangiku was quite the beauty, and she knew it. Even drunk and smiling stupidly, she still looked friggin' hot.

Nodding tersely as a thank you, Grimmjow left the place. The fresh air seemed to clear up his aching mind a little, and the chilly air felt good when it entered his nostrils. With only his leather jacket as a cover-up, he made his way back to the dormitory. How long had it taken him? Ten minutes? Fifteen? Maybe more?

He fumbled for the key to Room 211 in his jeans pocket and clumsily opened the door. Hoping he hadn't made _too_ much noise, he carefully shut the door and tiptoed in, slipping his jacket off, tossing it onto his desk, flinching at the clanking it made, and then just stripping completely. He didn't even bother to put a simple wife beater on, let alone sweatpants, just left his boxers on.

A bright light suddenly shone from Ichigo's side of the room. Quietly walking over, Grimmjow noticed the sleeping man's phone and a new notification – an email. And the phone was playing music. The man wasn't even wearing the blanket properly. Earphones were plugged in, and Grimmjow could vaguely hear the melody in the silence of the room. It was a song he liked: "Life of the Party" by Shawn Mendes. He didn't usually listen to soft songs like this one, but Ichigo had gotten him into the genre. Leaning over, he tapped the screen to turn off the music and tugged the earphones away from Ichigo, who scowled in his sleep and moved a little bit, but otherwise slept on.

Perhaps he would blame it on the alcohol, or maybe even the drowsiness, but on the spur of the moment, Grimmjow leaned down further and gently locked his lips on the sleeping form's. Ichigo's lips were soft and warm, and he just wanted to keep kissing them forever and ever. But Ichigo stirred, and eyes blinked open. Grimmjow shot up and scratched the back of his head. Had he noticed?

"Sorry," he said quietly. "Um, did I wake you?"

"… No," Ichigo mumbled sleepily, rubbing a weary eye. Then his eyes widened and his head snapped up. "You're back?"

Grimmjow nodded, trying to hide the smile he was wearing. Was the darkness enough to disguise it? "Um, go back to sleep. I just… turned off your music, is all."

Nodding slowly, Ichigo yawned and took the earphones that Grimmjow handed to him, and then carefully wrapped the cord around his phone and set it down beside his head, charging. He glanced up at the blue-haired roommate before dropping his head on his pillow and turning around to face the wall.

"'Night," he mumbled, and the other said the same.

Flopping onto his own bed, Grimmjow swallowed hard. It didn't seem like Ichigo noticed. Or had he? Was he just pretending?

He hugged his pillow tightly, gritting his teeth. What the hell was he thinking? Wasn't Ichigo completely, absolutely, undoubtedly straight? With Princess and all that. Holy hell, whatever, he didn't even know what to think anymore.

Sudden desire to sleep consumed the man, and he focused on a stain on the wall to help himself fall asleep. Oh… he had forgotten to set his alarm. But he was tired. Tired, tired, tired. And there was no class tomorrow, so…

He dreamed of mountains. Extremely tall mountains of which he could not even see the summit, for the tops were all hidden by the enormous clouds sitting firmly on them. Before him was somebody, someone important to him. So important, he didn't know what he would ever do without that person. And that someone was yelling, calling to him, waving and smiling and making his chest go all warm. Such a precious being that person was, yet… Who was it? He couldn't seem to remember. He didn't know. The person. The special someone. Who…

And then, the mystery being was snatched away from right under his nose. The antagonist was cackling, along with the other goons. But the person… the precious person… was crying. And he had no idea as of what he should do. This person was so important to him that it almost felt as if his life depended on whether the person was living there with him, beside him, laughing and making him feel all warm. But now, whoever this was was crying for him. He couldn't see much else, but he could at least see the tears streamlining down flushed cheeks. He made a jump for it. His hand was right there, outstretched, reaching for his loved one.

And then they vanished. Both the kidnapper and the captive vaporized. There was no other way to explain it. They were gone. They had dissolved into thin air, and all he could hear were the cackling voices and muffled cries. He had failed to protect yet another one he loved, as he had done so many years ago. He made the same mistake as he had back then, and fucked everything up so bad…

He cried. And he cried. He fell to his knees and screamed at the sky – the sky that was slowly fading to darkness when only just a minute ago, it had been as bright as could be. He realized that, when the light of his life had been taken away, the sun had begun to slowly die out. Was that even possible? Was it possible that the sun could die out? Yet here he was, sobbing like the shitty coward he was. He was sweating even though it was so cold all around him. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit…!

"Oooi," an unfamiliar voice called. It was an irritating voice. He was still indulging himself in grief. Allow him to drown in sorrow for just a little, at the very least! "Dude, is this guy really okay or some—"

Grimmjow shot up from his position on the bed before his eyes even managed to blink open. His blanket was tangled with his feet at the bottom, his neck and forehead were soaked with perspiration, and his pillow was nowhere on the bed. Had he tossed it away during his sleep?

"Ah, Grimmjow!" He immediately looked up at Ichigo's voice, but was met with a completely unwelcoming pair of eyes he'd never seen before.

He screamed with all his might and backed away as far as possible. Pressing himself up against the wall, he tried to calm his breathing from the _very_ close encounter of this fucking stranger. They had almost been _touching noses_! The mere idea sent unpleasant shivers all throughout his body. He glanced up again after rubbing his eyes, but it was not a dream at all. A stupid-looking red-haired moron sat glaring at him with a stupid-looking expression, stupid-looking tattoos covering his stupid-looking face and body as far as he knew. And right beside the redhead was a man with white hair, pale skin, and a swirling mixture of gold and black as his eye color. It was almost intriguing, but fucking disturbing at the same time.

"Hah? Wha's wit' tat look? Di'nt I jus' pull ya out of a nightmare?" the albino said loudly, as if mocking him. He probably was, actually.

"Take-nii, enough already…" Glancing further up, Grimmjow finally noticed Ichigo behind the other two, an apologetic look on his face. Were they all friends? He could already tell he did not like the taller two.

"Buuut," the white-haired man whined, making Grimmjow want to puke, "this bastard was bein' sooo ungrateful ta his nightmare-savior that I jus' _had_ ta say somethin', yanno?"

"HAH? Whad'ya SAY? _You're _a fuckin' nightmare… Ichigo, what's with tattoo baboon and whitey here?"

"EXCUSE?" The redhead suddenly spoke up. Grimmjow could literally _see_ the tick mark on the guy's forehead as he cracked his knuckles and exchanged glances with the albino, as if deciding Grimmjow was better off dead than alive. "Big blue baby!"

"Red fuckin' pineapple!"

It became a full-on war of insults, the three of them throwing nasty words back and forth at each other.

"Whitey ass-hat!"

"Old geezer!"

"Fuckin' trash!"

"Dipshit!"

"Li'l fucker!"

"Dick-face!"

"Crap—"

"ENOUGH!"

When they all settled back down on Ichigo's bed (surprisingly, they all made themselves fit since none of them would give up a seat), the three debaters each had a large bump on their heads, in courtesy of Ichigo's knuckles.

"Sorry, Grimmjow, I was going to take them out; just, I forgot my phone. But then you were all tossing and turning and these two here were like—"

"WAIT. Why are ya apologizin' to blue baby here? We ain't done nothin' wrong!"

"Yeah, Ichigo, _he_ started it—"

The two stopped immediately when Ichigo glared at them. The orange-head sighed and shook his head. "You call waking somebody up on _Saturday_ and _insulting_ them to the best of your abilities first thing in the morning 'nothing wrong'?"

"But it was fuckin' nine already! Ya can't sleep forever! Besides, tha' was_ totes_ not the _best _of my abilities…"

"Take-nii… Just because _you're _an early riser doesn't mean _everyone_ has to be that way."

"But nine ain't even early!"

The albino shut up when Ichigo glared at him, but Grimmjow didn't miss the glower he gave him when Ichigo wasn't looking.

"So," Ichigo said with a huge exhale. "I don't think we've introduced ourselves properly, and since none of you seem to want to speak up first, here goes. Guys, Grimmjow. He's my roommate, as you probably have at least a vague idea of."

The blue-haired man huffed. _Yeah, I'm his fucking roommate and all, so back off!_

"Umm, this is Renji Abarai, and I've known him for, eh, five, six, years now."

"Yeah, since junior high," Renji added as an afterthought.

_Okay, so, childhood friends. He's old. I'm new. I probably have a better chance yeah? Shoo, shoo, thanks._

"And… this is Takeshi." Grimmjow acknowledged the man with an indifferent nod, still refusing to make eye contact. "He's my older brother."

"WHAT?" Grimmjow's eyes snapped up, his head whipping around to look at the albino. Now that he looked carefully, the two certainly did have a rather remarkable resemblance. He just hadn't noticed because of all the… _whiteness._

"Yeah, I know. Takeshi Kurosaki. Say hi."

_If that's Ichigo's brother, that means I need to look good to him, doesn't it? Like, if we ever get married or shit… Hahahahaha, fuck it._

"You… you had a brother?"

"Yup. I have two, actually. Haven't I told you?"

"_Two_?" Grimmjow stared wide-eyed. "Another… brother…"

"Yeah," Ichigo laughed. "No sisters, though."

"Does… does he go here?"

"Nah… He'd twenty-seven. He works back home."

"Yeah, _bro_! And I'm a fuckin' _senior_! BOW TO YO SENPAI!" Takeshi cackled maliciously, and Grimmjow stared as Ichigo punched his brother in the stomach.

"Settle down, seriously," Ichigo muttered as he shook out his fingers. "You're freaking moronic." Takeshi whimpered, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout. Grimmjow just had to laugh, to which the albino glowered ruthlessly.

"So, anyway," Ichigo continued. "We were about to go for brunch. Wanna tag along?"

* * *

_This chapter was a little longer than usual, but I suppose that's okay._

_School has begun once more… which means I don't have much time on my hands anymore D': I haven't even double-checked (last-minute-edited) this chapter… I thought this was already up like a long time ago... guess not ._

_My brother is playing _Happy Wheels _beside me._

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter!_

_[ Jou ]_


	5. Chapter 5

**G.J. – 10/31 Fri. – 8:28 pm**

What.

How.

Why.

Fuck.

Grimmjow took his eyes from the road to glance at the passenger's seat, where Ichigo was sitting. That part was good – wonderful, really – but sitting atop his lap and blushing tremendously was the Princess. Are you serious? How had it come to this?

**III**

They had gone out shopping for costumes earlier in the day. Grimmjow had asked if that was really necessary, since it was only one party. Nel had told _of course_ it was necessary, _especially _because it was this one party. It was a big one and it would be fun. Grimmjow ended up getting a pair of torn vintage shorts out of exasperation (mostly caused by the girls' nagging), but also because he had wanted one like this for quite a while now; it was just that he never had the opportunity. Otherwise, he was basically just there to carry the bags, much like the few other males that were there with them.

All throughout the shopping, the girls were texting rapidly even as they walked, but when Grimmjow asked whom they were speaking to, they would ignore him or change the topic. Not that he really cared whom they socialized with, but their attitudes did slightly provoke his curiosity. The way they could multitask through literally anything never ceased to astonish him.

**III**

"Ahh, Grimmy! You look _amazing_!" Nel squealed gleefully, holding what looked like an ordinary pencil to Grimmjow, but what was apparently actually a makeup tool for the eyes. It didn't exactly sit well with him that his sister and her friends were applying _makeup_ on him, but he decided it would be all right. It was only for the day, after all.

They were in the house that Nelliel and Rangiku shared along with several other girls. Friends and lovers were there as well, all preparing for the party that was apparently a much bigger deal than Grimmjow had first anticipated. He wondered if Ichigo would be okay with that, and what the orangette was currently doing. If he had _any_ female acquaintances, he would probably have been dragged out to shop by now.

"But it would look so much cooler if you let us powder you up a little!" Rangiku pouted, cradling her cheek in the palm of her slender hand. "Ah, mo, Jack-chan is naturally pretty tan, so I guess this will do!"

Stitches were skillfully drawn all over Grimmjow's body, paintings of two bolts on either side of his head. He was wearing the shorts he had bought earlier, but without a top. He was supposed to be Frankenstein, which had not been his idea, but his sister's. He went along with it, for he really didn't have anything better.

On the other hand, Nelliel and Rangiku had dressed up as twin cats, feline ears on their heads and makeup on their faces that strongly resembled a cat's snout and whiskers. They even had colored contacts – yellow and with sharp pupils that looked quite realistic. Their costumes were indeed rather great ones, very well suited and prepared for. It was obvious they had been anticipating this party for quite a while now. After all, they hadn't been able to attend the last one – no; there had not even _been_ a last one – due to certain…circumstances.

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Grimmjow glanced up, wondering whom it could be especially since they were just getting ready to leave. Nelliel hopped up to get the door, and when it opened with the usual clatter-pop, her excited squeals could be heard all the way back to the living room.

As eager voices approached, everyone's eyes were trained on the entrance. Several people stepped in, Nel talking non-stop beside them as she led them back in.

"Yay! These guys have the extra car." Nelliel clapped to get everyone's attention, which she already had anyway. "Okay, I think we're ready to go, don't you think?"

**III**

And so, everyone ended up squeezing into three different cars.

Grimmjow (now wearing a dark shirt – against the girls' protests) was made to drive by Nelliel, who rode in the back with Rangiku, a maroon-haired senior named Haineko (a.k.a. Neko), and a quiet raven-haired junior named Nemu. Having four women in the back of your car means _a lot _of noise. His eardrums were about to burst just by being with them.

On the other hand, Ichigo was riding shotgun, and as mentioned before, Princess was on top of him, blushing like a madwoman.

"I'm really heavy though…" Princess was totally freaking out over this. It pissed Grimmjow off.

"Eh? But you're not heavy at all; it's okay," Ichigo was saying. _What the fuck, Ichigo, you're not supposed to say those things!_

Their conversation was…really distracting.

"_Grimmy_! Stop driving so roughly! You're gonna get us _killed_!"

Nel's high-pitched voice snapped Grimmjow out of his reverie. The car nearly swerved back into the road where it _should_ have been before Grimmjow lost focus.

"Ah, sorry," he muttered, gripping the steering wheel in a somewhat firmer hold.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ichigo looking at him, not to mention the feeling of the brown eyes trained on him. The orangette still spoke to Princess, but in a slightly distracted tone, as if he wasn't really listening but just nodding along to the distant warble of her voice.

But goddamn, if his eyes weren't attracted to the carrot-top. Ichigo was dressed as a vampire (obviously girls' idea) – black skinny jeans, white dress shirt, dark cloak, and polished black boots. And he had _smoky eyes._ And it suited him. According to that short brunette among the group of people who had come in later, Ichigo had also refused to put powder on his face. Grimmjow thought he looked completely fine – no, he looked _real good_. It was really too bad that he had to keep his eyes on the road.

On the other hand, Princess was dressed as a witch. She was completely covered in black, including a long dress, a dark cloak, sharp-looking boots, and a pointed hat that she was holding in her hands instead of wearing it – just because it was too high for the small car. Her makeup was near perfection, apparently done by the older girls they had gone shopping with. Grimmjow had to admit: she looked cute. Hot, even. And he felt that that was all the more reason she should _not_ be sitting on Ichigo's lap.

When they finally arrived at the party, it had already been going on for around half an hour. It was in Las Noches, which they had rented out by sharing the price, but mostly using the connections they had within the club. The Halloween decorations were impressive indeed, and the scent of food sent Grimmjow's stomach growling with hunger. People in all kinds of costumes roamed the grounds. There were wizards, princesses, butlers, animals, ghosts, fairies, maids, pirates, angels, succubi, mummies, heroes, villains, demons, ninjas, skeletons, monsters, undertakers, nurses…

It was really a lot of fun. Usually, when Grimmjow went to parties, it was just to get drunk, stoned, or even laid. He actually had fun in this one. And the night was just beginning.

**III**

"Berry-tan's getting druuunk," Kuna said with a shake of her own drink. Damn, that short lady was one good drinker. And what's with the green hair? Dye? She was dressed as a pumpkin. The look surprisingly suited her.

They were sitting at a booth: Kuna, Kotetsu (the smaller one; apparently, she was Work-Kotetsu's younger sister), Hinamori, Abarai, Nel (whose boyfriend couldn't make it until later), Rangiku (whose boyfriend also got held back by work), Ichigo, and Grimmjow. The table was covered in various assortments of bottles, glasses, plates, and bowls.

"Am not," Ichigo refuted with a huff, downing the last of his beer. Grimmjow had no idea the guy could drink so much.

Previously, he had assumed Ichigo was a quieter, no-parties sort of guy, and it even seemed the man himself thought so as well. At first, Ichigo didn't want to drink and refused to take a sip, but after much nagging from the others, he gave in. And once he got fired up enough, he was an _incredible _drinker. Currently, Abarai, Rangiku, Kuna, and Ichigo were having a drinking competition to see who would drop or surrender before the other. It was pretty much tie game so far.

"Excuse me for a bit," Ichigo announced as he stood, inching his way out of the booth.

"Ahh, Ichigo-chan surrenders?!" Rangiku exclaimed dramatically, but the carrot-top only shook his head.

"I'm sorry to say, but no," he said with a light laugh. "Just need the toilet." After receiving directions on where the restroom was, he disappeared into the crowd, waving off Rangiku's comment about not being allowed to drink any water while he was gone before completely merging with the rest of the club.

"I'm going too." Grimmjow stood as well, earning several whines from the group. He laughed and scooted out.

* * *

**I.K. – 10/31 Fri. – 10:21 pm**

He felt slightly tipsy, but otherwise, he seemed to be in pretty good condition. He headed to the restroom to take a piss, for he really hadn't lied when he told the others he needed the toilet.

It happened when he was washing his hands after stepping out of the slightly disgusting bathroom stall. When he glanced up at the mirror, his own face wasn't the only thing he saw. A longish face occupied the space beside Ichigo's, one eye covered by an eye patch, straight black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Ichigo started at the sudden and rather creepy appearance, yanking his hands from below the rushing sink water.

"Holy fuck, man," he muttered under his breath, calming his rapid pulse. He recovered enough to turn off the water and dry off his hands. He felt a lot better than he had before the bathroom break. "Jeez, you scared me."

"What a cutie. Even better up close," the stranger slurred, and Ichigo turned around to find the man was freakishly tall. There were a few others behind him, and did not look like they were specifically there for the Halloween party since they weren't exactly wearing any costume…well, unless that eye patch was supposed to make him some kind of pirate.

"Me?" Ichigo scowled, and an unpleasant shiver ran down his spine when the man nodded. "Hey, I'm a dude."

"I know," the stranger said with a growing grin. When Ichigo cocked his head in confusion, the gang behind him snickered like mad.

"'Course he knows, but he don't care cuz Nnoi here's a flamin' gay. Right, Nnoi?" Somebody in the back provided an explanation, but it wasn't exactly helping the bedlam within Ichigo's head, especially with the excess amount of alcohol already buzzing it up a little bit.

"Shaddup, D," Nnoi – whoever he was – mumbled, but his grin only seemed to grow wider with every passing moment.

By this point, Ichigo had to think a little. Sure, he was a good fighter from…admittedly, from his junior high days. He still worked out too. These guys, however, looked like some serious shit. He was positive they could fight as well, and _five_ of them were a little… Well, he wasn't sure he could handle all of them at once if they attacked at any point.

"Sorry, man, not interested. I suggest you go find some other 'flaming gay' and I'll get back, yeah?" Ichigo reached for the door, hoping to escape while he was still one whole piece, but was stopped by the ridiculously large hand on his wrist.

"Naw, honey, stay and play, won't'cha?"

That's it. Ichigo reached out and landed a solid hit on "Nnoi's" cheek, earning a pained cry, a scowl, and spit mixed with blood in the process. The man glanced at him, anger boiling in his beady eyes. His large hands formed a fist and he swung forward, Ichigo moving away just barely before it hit him.

"Oh, _ow_." Someone behind.

Ichigo whipped around, guard way up, only to see Grimmjow rubbing his shoulder, probably where Nnoi had hit instead of its original destination: Ichigo's face.

"That timing though," Grimmjow said as he raised an eyebrow at the gang. Although his words were playful, his tone did not suggest any sort of joke. He looked upset, actually. "What're you doing here, Nnoitra?"

_Nnoitra._

"Just tryin' ta enjoy tha party, Grimmy; wha's tha problem there?"

"Go home, man; you're drunk as fuck." Ichigo _almost_ laughed at Grimmjow's comment.

"Aw, Grimmjow, yer s'rsly gonna take 'im all by yerself? C'mon, kid, don't be all selfish-like."

Ichigo didn't like the way Nnoitra spoke. His words were all slurred together, and the contents made Ichigo skeptical of the entire situation. He couldn't understand half the things Nnoitra was spouting, but Grimmjow seemed to get it all with no trouble.

"C'mon, man, get your scrawny ass up and home…" Grimmjow muttered, then sped up as he began charging toward Nnoitra with clenched fists. "Before I fucking make you regret coming here in the first place!" He swung at the taller man, landing a solid blow straight in the gut. Nnoitra coughed violently, but cracked his fingers when he recovered enough, motioning his goonies to surround the other two. Ichigo hated to just watch.

"Hey," he muttered to Grimmjow. The blue-haired raised an eyebrow in response. "It's nice and all that you came to help, but y'know, this was my fight. I could handle it on my own – just for the record." Damn, but was that true? Of course not. He was grateful. But would he let that show? _No._

Grimmjow chuckled, stretching out his shoulder muscles as the Yankees shifted into place around them.

"Sure, sure, I knew that," he said just as the gang charged at them.

**III**

After washing off whatever blood remained on their skin (and clothes, for that matter because what a waste of perfectly new clothes), Grimmjow and Ichigo returned to their booth, and oh, what a pathetic state it was in. There were booze bottles _everywhere_, and everyone's faces were pretty much lax from too much drinking. Despite what Rangiku had told him earlier, Ichigo had gone and drank a bit of water after the little rough-up outside. When they stepped in front of the table, Rangiku dropped her head backwards to stare at them, her eyes narrowed drunkenly.

"Ah, moooo, that took waaaay too long, guys," she whined. Her eyes widened suddenly when she noticed the little parts on their faces where the skin had been torn, and hence they could not hide. "What happened to you?!"

The others glanced up to see the same. Grimmjow and Ichigo could only exchange looks.

"What the hell happened _here_?" Ichigo inquired, avoiding Rangiku's question. He leaned over the table, scooting into his spot next to Inoue, to which she blushed. _Which_ reminded him of Grimmjow's words from four weeks ago, when they were walking home together. He had asked if he was dating Inoue. He wasn't, for sure, but did he like her? That reminded him of Renji too.

The truth was, he _thought_ he liked her, actually. But that wasn't the case anymore. He knew he didn't like her. It was kind of strange how she blushed whenever he approached. She was a really nice girl, though.

"Mashiro's down!" Rangiku said, sounding excited as she jerked her chin at the fallen girl. "Renji's breaking too. I can feel it! Ichigo-chan doesn't count anymore cuz he left…"

She fell to the side all of a sudden, Grimmjow moving in just in time to catch her.

"Fuck, yeah, I win!" Renji exclaimed before dropping unconscious as well.

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo pulled the redhead onto his lap for some peaceful rest. Fuck him if this boy wasn't going to have a _huge_ hangover tomorrow. He actually wanted to take the drunkard back to the dorm immediately, but was held back by the rest, somehow allowing himself to be persuaded by the miserable lot he now called his friends. He drank a little more while the others completely immersed themselves in the feel of the party. It reminded him of back when he was in junior high, flunking classes and fooling around all the time. The memory was the only thing that prevented Ichigo from doing much else, and he always excused himself for a bit just before he was tempted to drink a little too much at a time – which really was quite often.

After a particularly dangerous cup of booze, Ichigo headed outside to get a little "fresh air" – although really, the alleyway smelled like anything _but_ fresh. More like vomit and burnt cigarettes.

He was leaning against the old brick wall beside the club's metal door when it slammed open all of a sudden, two people stumbling out. The noise blasted out for a brief two seconds before the door swung shut again, muffling the sounds once again.

The couple consisted of a petite woman with curly purple pigtails and a well-built man with striking blue hair gelled up in the most perfect way possible.

Grimmjow.

And a girl.

Ichigo stared wide-eyes at the two as they slammed up against the wall opposite of him. He noticed how it was the girl making all the initial moves; she was actually being a tad bit too aggressive in Ichigo's opinion, and it looked as if Grimmjow was more than a little uncomfortable as well. Her hands pushed against his chest as she kissed him roughly, her breasts rubbing up against Grimmjow's body. Ichigo felt pretty terrible about watching, but he just could not tear his eyes away.

He hated to admit it, but it was hot.

"Cirucci, Jesus Christ, knock it off!" Grimmjow finally shoved the girl off, and Ichigo jolted in surprise. Should he not be here or…?

"Why?" the girl – Cirucci – questioned. Ichigo couldn't tell if she was hurt or just plain drunk just by staring at the back of her head. "Is it because of _that_ person? You can't even kiss me at a party because of that?" Her voice was raised but quivering, although whether it was from rage or from grief, Ichigo couldn't tell.

"I've told you s—" And then Grimmjow stopped, noticing Ichigo for the first time. His eyes widened with what seemed to be shock. Oops. Ichigo had missed his chance to escape.

Grimmjow pushed Cirucci away completely, and finally she seemed to notice where his gaze led to: Ichigo. At last, he could see her face clearly. She wore an enormous amount of makeup, all of them in different shades of purple, and it made Ichigo wonder whether it felt sticky and uncomfortable on her face and whether all that junk weighed anything.

"Who the f—"

"That's him."

The girl had just been about to curse Ichigo out when Grimmjow interrupted, making her whip back around to face him.

"What?"

"He's the person I'm in love with." And then he was gliding toward Ichigo, leaning in and kissing him as if he would never see another day.

* * *

_There is…I don't know – quite a lot of "development" this next chapter I think? I hope you don't think it's too much. I just plugged in what seemed to be appropriate for the moment – what jumped into my mind as I wrote. And I think I like it!_

_This is a shorter chapter, if you couldn't tell already. It's probably around 2000 words less than other chapters, but I think this is the way I will be writing from now: shorter chapters and more frequent updates. _

_Honestly, the reviews __**make my day**__. A HUGE thank you to all who bother :)_

_And THANK YOU to **Padt06**, my spectacular beta._

_[ Jou ]_


	6. Chapter 6

**I.K. – 11/01 Sat. – 12:02 am**

The shock was so evident in Cirucci's widened eyes that it practically radiated off of her as she stared.

As for Ichigo, he was speechless. Not that he could have spoken anyway, even if he did have the words. Grimmjow was kissing him, and his first thought was to shove him away, but it kind of felt good, and for a while he just let Grimmjow work the magic in his mouth.

All of a sudden, the girl grabbed Grimmjow's shoulder, twisting him around. Ichigo was left panting, eyes round and bulging, only just realizing he'd been holding his breath the entire time they'd been kissing.

A slap echoed through the dimly lit alleyway, the girl having smashed her hand against Grimmjow's cheek as hard as she could. It looked painful; it would probably create a bruise.

"You're an asshole," she whispered, her voice quivering.

But Grimmjow stood firm without a word, and the girl stomped back into the club, tears shining in her eyes.

Grimmjow heaved out a deep breath and leaned back on the brick wall beside Ichigo. His eyes were closed and his chest was slowly rising and falling, catching his breath. Ichigo was staring before he knew it.

"Gri—"

"Sorry. I just wanted her to stop. I didn't mean to do any of… that."

A pang of disappointment rippled through Ichigo's conscience. He had no clue why – perhaps at the prospect of being a mere tool for Grimmjow? It was cold. Maybe he should have brought his… cape. He'd left it back inside, slung over the top of a cushioned seat, and he was beginning to think perhaps that had been a mistake. Sure, it was a little embarrassing to wear it around outside, but it was cold. Besides, everyone was wearing some kind of ridiculous outfit, so why not?

"Oh. Yeah. That's cool." Friends were supposed to help each other out. No problem.

But hadn't this happened before as well? When Grimmjow kissed him in their dorm room the night he came back really late? He'd apologized, told him he was only turning off Ichigo's music for him, but Ichigo knew what he'd seen, what he'd felt. Unless… all that had only been a fragment of his imagination, or even a dream. He honestly had been half asleep when it happened, much too groggy to further debate upon the matter.

The silence was crushing. The two leaned against the brick wall at respective distances, Ichigo wondering when he should be taking his leave but feeling much too awkward to do anything except _think_ about doing something. He opened his mouth several times, about to speak, but always decided against it in the end and shut his mouth before his voice could escape.

"Ah, fuck it…"

Grimmjow was the first one to speak, even though it was a swear word. Ichigo turned his head, glad that at least the silence had finally been broken.

He hadn't expected chapped lips to slam onto his own, firm fingers gripping his chin and a hand on the back of his head. Grimmjow pushed him up against the wall, hands moving to hold Ichigo's wrists up instead of squeezing his neck. Ichigo squirmed, eyes open and wide, for a second, forgetting to breathe through his nose. Grimmjow's eyes were closed, however, and soon Ichigo stilled, just watching his roommate kiss him from the closest proximity _ever_.

It felt good.

Grimmjow finally pulled away, his eyes burning with a ferocity Ichigo had never seen before. Blue hair was tousled and messy, the usual gel wearing off. His shirt – his costume, that is – looked hot on him, all torn and vintage-like.

Ichigo was about to speak when Grimmjow pushed off the wall, slowly sinking until he was crouching on the ground, fingers tangling with his hair and practically tearing it off his skull. No, it actually looked like he was planning to make himself go bald.

"Hey – dude, Grimm – hey, stop it – you're gonna have a fucking bald spot if you keep that up! Stop it!" Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow's wrists and yanked them away from his head. "I said stop!"

Azure orbs stared back up at him, and it was just the most pathetic sight he'd seen of Grimmjow. Ever.

"Jesus Christ. What's your problem, man?"

And then Grimmjow exploded.

"What's my problem? _What is my fucking problem_? That's what _I_ wanna know! And what the hell's _your_ fucking problem? I just kissed you! Hell, I just kissed the guy I've been crushing on for a while now, and WHAT'S MY PROBLEM? Ichigo, I'm in love with you, you dipshit! I just told you that! I just told Cirucci that! My first excuse for a kiss was an impossibly lame _apology_, and I even used Cirucci for that! Fuck, just look at me. I'm _confessing_ to the guy I like using swear words and cursing my fucking head off and I honestly never expected to come off as such a pathetic excuse of a man, but here I am now and this is just _not_ how I expected the night to go, much less how I expected my _confession _to go because this is just so freaking different from how I imagined I would do this and—"

Grimmjow suddenly stopped talking when their eyes met, biting his lip to cut himself off. He dropped his head and stared at the ground, fidgeting restlessly. Ichigo thought he heard him curse one last time.

Ichigo's head was swarming with incoherent thoughts. What was he supposed to do in such a situation? Was there an eHow on how to deal with such awkward circumstances? Even if there was, it wouldn't be much use help for Ichigo now, would it?

"Um," he began, but Grimmjow cut him off by raising a hand.

"Wait, stop," he said, eyes squeezed shut. "Don't say anything yet." Ichigo shut his mouth then, and waited as Grimmjow pulled in a deep breath.

"I… wanted to do it properly." The normally confident man did not even glance up from where he was squatting on the ground. "Shit, I messed up," he muttered, fingers back in his hair. Ichigo worried he might start pulling at it again, but he didn't. "Sorry. I just… I didn't want to do this yet. I was scared. I _am_ scared. Maybe. I mean, you'd get scared too if you were planning to tell your crush you like him. And the person could completely reject you. Or maybe you don't get scared; maybe it's just me. I mean, I wouldn't even know because this is the first time I've felt this way, and I'm absolutely positive I sound unbelievably corny right now, but for some reason I honestly don't care, and… it's fucking crazy, man. I mean, if you say no, I… don't even know."

All… this. All this was more than a little bit overwhelming. Ichigo desperately fished for something to say, but nothing seemed right. So they sat there for a little while, squatting and watching a trail of ants scuttle by.

"You don't have to answer right away." Once again, Grimmjow was the one to break the silence. "This isn't exactly the way I planned to do this anyway. I just… It just somehow…" The man never finished his sentence, for he abruptly stood up. Ichigo couldn't see his face from his current position, and it was hard to tell what Grimmjow was thinking when he spoke in such an insipid tone. "I'll catch ya later then."

A blast of music came from within the club when Grimmjow opened the door, but it was gone in a mere second as the door swung shut again.

Ichigo sat dumbfounded for a second before following the blue-haired man inside, hurriedly making his way through the crowds and back to the booth his friends were still at. Grimmjow was nowhere to be seen. Several of his friends were gone as well, probably either dancing or puking, but he leaned over the table to speak to the ones who remained.

"Did any of you see Grimmjow just now? Where'd he go?"

"I thought he was with you," Kiyone responded, supporting Hinamori - who seemed to be slumping from intoxication. Apparently, she was quite the lightweight when it came to alcohol.

Ichigo only nodded. He grabbed his vampire cloak, about to leave, when he remembered Renji, his stupid friend, still knocked out cold from the booze. He couldn't just leave the redhead there. Who knew when the party would end? Would there be anyone willing to take his drunken ass back to the dormitory? Ichigo didn't even have a car. Walking back to Clarken with such a heavy burden would _not _be an easy task.

Hence, Ichigo ended up staying at the club, naturally becoming the designated driver for the team. He had to resist the strong urge to go and look for Grimmjow, and soon he was beginning to wonder if all that back in the alleyway had even happened.

* * *

**G.J. – 11/01 Sat. – 12:23 am**

Fucking crazy, he was. What had he been thinking? Their relationship was as good as over now. And why? Because he was a moron.

Grimmjow swung by their dorm to pick up a pair of clothes and his homework, tossing his phone onto his bed before leaving the room.

He walked for quite a bit, and wondered if maybe he should have called first in order to let his friend know he was coming over, and that he should come and pick him up. Grimmjow reached his destination soon enough, however, not too breathless at all.

"Grimmjow?"

Two beady eyes peered out at Grimmjow when he knocked on the front door. He'd been careful not to ring the doorbell, for he knew the baby of the house would be fast asleep.

"Yeah."

The door swung wide open, revealing a huge, burly man the size of a grizzly bear. Black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, when just a year or two ago it had been up in crazy wild spikes only Kenpachi Zaraki could pull off.

"Why're ya dressed like that?"

"Let me crash at your place tonight," Grimmjow said, his voice tired and dejected.

Kenpachi looked concerned, but suspicious. "C'mon, man, I got settled. I have a _kid_ now." Grimmjow knew what he meant. Kenpachi had been involved in some serious shit before, running around and making all kinds of trouble with Grimmjow. In fact, the man had been the one to teach him such things in the first place, and Grimmjow had adapted. Kenpachi met a woman, however: a beautiful woman with bright pink hair named Kuna. When she got pregnant, Kenpachi calmed down and pulled himself out of the dark, Grimmjow following suit not long afterwards. Other than his adopted parents, Kenpachi was the one who Grimmjow truly looked up to.

"I'm not being chased or anything, I swear. Just personal issues. Really."

Then, without a moment of hesitation, Kenpachi let him in, fishing out a spare blanket and pillow for Grimmjow as the younger settled on the couch. The man looked gruff and more than a little bit frightening, but if you got on his good side, he was actually a good man who knew how to deal with all kinds of problems.

"G'night, then," Kenpachi said, about to leave, when Grimmjow grabbed his arm.

"Thanks, man," he said with an apologetic grin, which Kenpachi returned with full feeling. It was almost like back in the old days.

"Any time, buddy," he assured, but then paused with a frown. "Unless you're involved in some kind of criminal shit. I don't want that in my life no more, ya got that?"

"Right, right."

"What happened, though? You all right, kid?"

"Yeah, really, I'm fine. Just a lot goin' on, that's it."

"A'ight, then. Oh, and Yachiru just might be real damn excited to see you."

Grimmjow laughed, suddenly missing the little pink-haired devil Kenpachi called his daughter.

The large man shut the lights off before heading upstairs to his own bedroom, and Grimmjow was left to his own thoughts.

He'd probably lost Ichigo. Once he had begun speaking, the words just would not stop flowing from his mouth, and now he'd messed up, letting everything out all at once and probably scaring Ichigo away. But every single word he'd said had been true. The only problem then was how Ichigo would take that – Ichigo, whose sexual orientation was painfully clear, even to Grimmjow. The man was obviously straight. Grimmjow could not deny the fact.

And Cirucci? He'd probably lost her too. They'd been friends since junior high, and he knew she liked him since their second year of high school. They'd started dating during junior year, but broke up before graduation. They were in the same university now, and although things were quite clearly over between them, Grimmjow knew Cirucci still had lingering feelings for him. She'd mentioned that before, but Grimmjow had only shaken his head, apologizing for that fact that he could not return such feelings anymore. They'd remained as friends, but now, he wasn't so sure.

Cirucci was a good person. Sure, she wore a helluva lot of makeup, but looks had never really meant much to Grimmjow. She was sassy, but if one truly knew her well, she was caring and sweet and extremely hard working.

Before his mind could plunge him into a time he did not want to revisit, Grimmjow stood and ambled over to the restroom. He looked terrible. Blue hair was messy and sticking up all over the place, azure eyes were tired and lifeless, and normally tan skin looked paler than usual. Perhaps it was only the fluorescent light in the bathroom, but no matter. Kenpachi wouldn't mind him taking a simple shower. So, he flung off his clothes and used hot water and soap to rub off the stitches drawn all over his body, which had already begun to smudge anyway. He thoroughly scrubbed every single thing there was to scrub. He probably hadn't washed up so well in a _long_ time.

Steam rose from the shower as Grimmjow stepped out, the sudden blast of cool air hitting him nice and hard. He wrapped a towel around himself as he looked into the mirror once again to see that he did indeed look much better. He was still tired as hell, but this was nothing compared to the desperation he had been feeling earlier. A long, hot shower sure did wonders to people.

He was only running away, and he knew it. Although completely unintentional, he had confessed to Ichigo at last, but he had fled from the site. He'd been afraid. He was still afraid. He had no clue what exactly Ichigo had to say about the case. He wanted to hear it, of course, but he was frightened to death at the same time. If Ichigo flat-out rejected him, he didn't know what he would do with himself. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain such rejection would most likely cause, and he didn't want to think about it, much less actually experience it.

Jesus, he wasn't being himself today.

Grimmjow pulled on the army green boxers he'd brought from his dorm room and slipped into his makeshift bed, delighting in the small comfort the couch offered for his exhausted body. He had thought trying to fall asleep would be extremely difficult, but heavy slumber consumed him almost as soon as he yanked the blanket over his head, sending him into a random series of dreams so terrifyingly realistic that he wasn't even sure if it had, in fact, truly happened.

**III**

He could have sworn he'd only slept for half an hour when he was woken by a high-pitched squeal, piercing through his eardrums. Grimmjow groaned and shifted slightly, hoping to return to his peaceful slumber, when an unidentified flying object leapt on top of him, nearly knocking the wind out of his lungs. At last, Grimmjow cracked a bleary blue eye open to see what the hell was making such a ruckus first thing in the morning, when bright pink blurred his already fuzzy vision. Pink?

He cracked a grin when he finally recognized the huge eyes staring eagerly at him, and yanked the little girl into his arms.

"Surprise attack! Retreat!" The girl shrieked, laughing her tiny lungs out as Grimmjow tickled her, and soon, Kenpachi and his wife dashed down to see what was going on.

"Hey, Kuna, how've ya been? Sorry for barging in like this, but…" He trailed off with an uncertain shrug at the end, addressing the nightgown-clad woman standing next to Kenpachi.

"Aw, come on, Grimmjow-kun. It's so good to see you again!" Kuna chirped, her voice upbeat and cheery as usual. Why somebody as bright and sunny as Kuna liked someone so looming and dark as Kenpachi, Grimmjow would never know. _Opposites attract, _he thought to himself.

Grimmjow would have replied with something else polite to say, but Yachiru beat him to it, yanking on his bed-head to divert his attention back to her once more. Grimmjow only laughed and assented, listening to her yap about school morons and the various types of kitchen knives because there really wasn't anything such a little girl could do to truly harm him. _Yet._

"You like your eggs scrambled, right?" Kuna asked as she pulled on a stained, once-white apron and gathered her short pink hair into a small, stubby ponytail. She wasn't particularly short; she was actually rather lanky and very well proportioned, but of course, everyone looked petite next to Kenpachi.

"Yeah, scrambled." Grimmjow smiled, missing the time back when he would always wake up like this with Kenpachi, and Kuna would make them breakfast each morning. Except, Yachiru hadn't _existed_ back then.

"And… bacon, right?" Kuna skillfully cracked an egg, its contents drooling into the fry pan she'd been heating up. Kenpachi lumbered over and took a seat next to Grimmjow, easily hefting his daughter from the younger man's laps and onto his own, relieving the bluenette from the continuous pinches and pulls Yachiru insisted she perform on him. Grateful, he took the chance to pull on a shirt and a pair of gym shorts he'd brought from back home.

"Yup, bacon. Thanks, Kuna." The woman nodded with a grin and set to work, asking each of her family members for their own orders as well.

Something big, something important was nagging at the back of his mind, and Grimmjow knew what it was. _Ichigo._ Of course, what else would it be? Ichigo was the only thing on his mind. And it was severely depressing. It was even worse than the time his high school teacher had told him about his failing grades, or even the time he had been told he would be serving the basketball team as a benchwarmer for the rest of that season. This was so much worse.

"… kun. Grimmjow-kun?"

"Ah? Oh, sorry, what was that last part?" He must have been spacing out. Quickly jerked back into reality, Grimmjow noticed everyone was already at the dining table, an extra chair pulled in from another room.

"Breakfast is ready." Kuna spoke slowly, concern lacing her voice. It looked as if she wanted to ask what exactly had brought Grimmjow over to their humble home, but he decided not to acknowledge her questioning glance, instead silently sauntering over to sit down.

All through the meal, Yachiru yapped on and on about whatever seemed to leap into her unfocused mind at that very second. In all frankness, Grimmjow was grateful for her jabbering – _her_ talking meant that _he_ didn't need to do any.

Thinking about it, he couldn't stay here forever. One night was plenty. At the immediate moment, however, Grimmjow really didn't have anywhere else to go. His parents would be asking an endless amount of questions, a different dorm room would probably be no help at all, and Nnoitra would just get him involved in shit he no longer wanted to deal with – ever. And Nel? Nel was going to get _married_. She lived with her fiancé, for fuck's sake. He certainly did not want to be someone who would just barge into an engaged couple's home and ask them to let him freeload at their place.

When Grimmjow glanced up from silently munching on a piece of bacon, he noticed the entire family staring at him. Kenpachi raised an eyebrow at him.

Shoot, he'd missed something. _Again_.

This was going to be one _long _weekend.

* * *

_Well, I'm insecure, but hope you enjoyed nonetheless! And hope you didn't feel as though either Grimm or Ichi was being **too **out of character... I tried my best :(_

_Sorry for updating at such wide intervals, but my beta just took SO DAMN LONG this time..._

_Naw, kidding. __**Padt06**__? She's awesome. Thanks as always._

_Review?_

_[ Jou ]_


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